18th Lok Sabha: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju Meets Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge

Ahead of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Rijiju visited Kharge's residence, in what was said to be a courtesy call. The minister later shared a picture of the meeting in a post on X. "I had a pleasant courtesy meeting with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress party president Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji.

He shared with me about many valuable experiences of his life. Together, we all will work for the nation," he said in the post. Assuming charge of the ministry last week, Rijiju had said there was no need for the government or the opposition to pull each other down on the basis of numerical strength and asserted that he would reach out to everyone for smooth functioning of Parliament.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24 during which new members of the Lower House will take oath and the speaker elected. President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27 and is likely to outline the new government's roadmap for the next five years.

The session will conclude on July 3. The first three days of the session will see the newly-elected MPs taking oath and electing the speaker of the Lower House. Both Houses of Parliament are expected to reconvene in the third week of July for the presentation of the Union Budget.