The Congress on Sunday sought the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker's position for the opposition in the all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of Parliament session, and raised the issue of paper leaks, including of the prestigious NEET, sources said.

They said party leader Gaurav Gogoi said the opposition should be allowed to raise issues in Parliament after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju sought cooperation from every party for the smooth running of the two Houses.

 

Samajwadi Party MP Ramgopal Yadav, sources said, raised the issue of the Uttar Pradesh government's controversial directive to eateries on the kanwariya route to display the owners' names.

 

The YSR Congress spoke about the TDP government's alleged targeting of its leaders in Andhra Pradesh and sought the Centre's intervention.

The meeting is being chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and was convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju.

Separately, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that in the all-party meeting, the JD-U and the YSRCP demanded special category status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh respectively but "strangely" the TDP kept quiet on the matter. 

In a post on X, Ramesh, who was present at the meeting  said, "In today's all-party meeting of floor leaders chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the JD-U leader demanded special category status of Bihar. The YSRCP leader demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Strangely, the TDP leader kept quiet on the matter."

Ramesh's post on the social media came when the meeting was still underway. 

JD-U, a key ally in the ruling NDA had recently passed a resolution demanding special category status or package for Bihar.

Though leaders from Andhra Pradesh had been demanding special category status for the state, the demand has again gained momentum post Lok Sabha polls.

BJP president J P Nadda, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and Union minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan were among the the leaders who attended the meet. -- PTI