Budget session to commence on Jan 31, President to chair joint sitting of both Houses

The Budget Session of Parliament starts on Friday with an address by President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The President's address would commence at 11 am. The Union Budget will be presented on Saturday. The first phase of the session will conclude on February 11, while the second part of the session will begin from March 2 and end on April 3.

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The BJP executive committee meeting is said to be held in Parliament library at 2 pm, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting is expected in Parliament Library at 3:30 pm on Friday.

An all-party meeting called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi was held on Thursday in Parliament ahead of the Budget Session. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended the meeting along with other Union Ministers, namely, Rajnath Singh, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Arjun Meghwal, V Muraleedharan, and others. 

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Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav was also present in the meet. BJD's Prasanna Acharya, NCP MP Supriya Sule, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, RJD leader Manoj Jha, and many other MPs were present in the meeting.

Discussion on economic issues

Prime Minister asserted that the government is open for discussion on all the issues during the Budget Session of the Parliament and agreed with the demand of the MPs to hold discussions on economic issues.

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"Most of the members have asked for discussion on the economic situation concerning the country. I welcome this and we need to discuss the economic issues as suggested by you all," he said. 

The Prime Minister urged the members to have discussions on how the Indian economy can gain from the current global scenario. "We should focus on how we can turn the global scenario in favour of India. And in this Budget Session, and in the beginning of the New Year if we can give a proper direction to the country's economy, it would be in the best interest of the country," he said. 

(With ANI inputs)

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