Ahead of stormy Parliament session, Speaker calls all-party meet

New Delhi: Amid all indications that the next Parliamentary session beginning on Monday is set to be a stormy affair, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has called an all-party meeting today to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament.

The session begins in the middle of a raging political controversy over the Uttarakhand political crisis in which Centre's role has come in for scathing criticism.

The session, which commences on April 25, is in fact the second part of the Budget session but since both the Houses were prorogued after the first part of it beginning February 23 and coming to an end on March 16, this will be a new session.

It will be the 8th session of 16 Lok Sabha and 239th session of Rajya Sabha.

Drought in ten states and the resultant water scarcity will also be raised in a big way by the Opposition parties, some of whom have already given notice in this regard to the Chair.

Congress is bracing to attack the government and rope in other opposition parties on the Uttarakhand issue.

Congress's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma on Thursday gave the notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari under Rule 267 for taking up the resolution after suspending all business.

The resolution seeks to "deplore" the "destabilisation" of the democratically elected government in Uttarakhand and "disapprove" the "unjustified" imposition of President's Rule there under Article 356 of the Constitution.

Government is also bracking for disruptions by Congress at least in the first few days on the Uttarakhand issue.