Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chaired a meeting of all floor leaders of the Lower House on July 16 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament that is slated to begin on July 18. The Opposition has demanded a discussion on the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, unemployment and farmers' issues.
Several Opposition parties, including TMC, BJD, Shiv Sena, TDP, Akali Dal, CPI(M),CPI, RSP and JMM, skipped the meeting. TMC said that such pre-session meetings are a sham because the agreement they reach in the meeting is not implemented in the House.
