INDIA bloc leaders to hold virtual meeting ahead of Parliament session

The Congress announced on Thursday (July 17) that leaders of the INDIA bloc parties will hold a virtual meeting on Saturday evening to discuss the current political situation in the country.

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The meeting, scheduled just ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning Monday, marks the first such joint deliberation by the alliance in a long time. The leaders would deliberate on a host of key issues, including the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, demand for discussion on the Pahalgam attack, and Operation Sindoor.

Key issues on agenda

US President Donald Trump's claims of bringing about a halt in hostilities between India and Pakistan, and the government's push to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma, embroiled in a row following the discovery of burnt wads of currency at his residence after a fire incident, will also feature in the discussions.

"A meeting of the leaders of the INDIA parties will be held online on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 7 pm to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country," Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said in a social media post on Thursday night.

Earlier, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had said that the INDIA bloc will hold a meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence here on July 19.

However, with the TMC busy with preparations for a rally on July 21 and some other scheduling issues, it was decided that the meeting would be held online. There was no immediate clarity on which leaders would be participating from various parties.

All-party meeting on July 20

An all-party meeting convened by the government is set to take place on Sunday ahead of the Monsoon session that is expected to witness confrontations between the ruling BJP and the Opposition, including the Congress-led INDIA bloc.

During the Parliament session, the top Congress leadership would also raise issues such as the demand for the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and rising atrocities against women in the country.

The Opposition party has also decided to raise farmers' problems, the issues of rising unemployment, safety and security of the country and the Ahmedabad air crash during the session.

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Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi had convened a meeting of the party's parliamentary strategy group at her 10, Janpath residence here on Tuesday evening.

Top party leaders, including Congress president Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, Jairam Ramesh, K Suresh, Manickam Tagore and others had participated in the meeting.

(With agency inputs)