Govt convenes all-party meet today ahead of Monsoon Session, TMC to skip meeting

The government has scheduled an all-party meeting on July 21 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which starts next Monday, sources have reported.

If he attends, this meeting will mark the first appearance of Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at the customary pre-session gathering of floor leaders from all parties.

However, sources from the Trinamool Congress have indicated that no representatives from the party will be present at the meeting, as July 21 is observed as Martyrs' Day by the party.

Martyrs' Day on July 21 commemorates the 13 Congress supporters who were shot dead by the Kolkata Police in 1993 during a march to the state secretariat, Writers' Buildings, when the CPI(M)-led Left Front was in power in West Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee, who was the state Youth Congress chief at the time, has continued to honor the day with an annual rally even after founding the Trinamool Congress on January 1, 1998.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament is set to begin on July 22 and will run until August 12, with the Budget scheduled to be presented on July 23.