New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday termed the all-party meeting convened by the Centre ahead of the Parliament's Winter Session a "mere formality", alleging that the Narendra Modi government has already revealed its intentions by listing a subject for short-duration discussion "without consulting the Opposition".  The all-party meeting, held here a day before the session begins on Monday, saw Opposition leaders flag issues ranging from electoral roll revisions and the recent blast in Delhi to unemployment, inflation, federalism and law-and-order concerns in several states.

The government had called the meeting in an effort to ensure the smooth functioning of both Houses during the session. This year's Winter Session will have only 15 sittings, a significant reduction from the usual 20, making it one of the shortest sessions in recent years. The Centre is planning to introduce 13 legislative bills and one financial bill during this period. In a post on X, Ramesh wrote: "The all-party meeting called by the Modi Govt to discuss the agenda for the winter session of Parliament starting tomorrow is a mere formality."

He pointed out that the session "will be the shortest in Parliamentary history". "The Modi Govt has listed 13 Bills for passage. Of these, one replaces an ordinance, and two have gone through a committee of the Lok Sabha. So ten Bills have not been examined by the Standing Committee concerned. Of course, it is possible that a Bill not listed at present will suddenly get introduced towards the later part of the short session", he added.

"The Modi Govt has made its intentions clear by listing a subject for a short-duration discussion WITHOUT any consultation with the Opposition," Ramesh said. The remarks come at a time when the Opposition is already expressing frustration over what it calls the unilateral scheduling of a short-duration discussion. The monsoon session, too, saw low productivity amid protests over the Special Intensive Review (SIR) processes in Bihar.