Govt reaches out to BJP for smooth passage of pending Bills

New Delhi, Aug 12: With two weeks of the Monsoon Session having passed without much significant business, Leader of the House in Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister today (Aug 12) reached out to the BJP top brass, including L K Advani, to discuss smooth passage of pending bills in the House.

In a meeting lasting more than 30 minutes in Advani's office in Parliament House, Mukherjee and Pawan Kumar Bansal requested the BJP top brass, including leaders of opposition in both houses, to help the government pass crucial bills.

The government is concerned as almost half of the 28 day Monsoon Session is over.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj described the meeting as a "routine courtesy call" by the two ministers. A meeting between the BJP top brass and the ministers had taken place earlier on the eve of the session.

Swaraj said the controversy caused by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha's comments during the debate on Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken's statement on CAG leaks did not figure in the meeting.

Advani had earlier complained to Mukherjee over the lathicharge on BJP youth wing activists by Delhi Police during an agitation against corruption and told him that it could not have happened without a nod from the higher-ups.

BJP had forced an adjournment of Parliament on the issue.

PTI