17, Feb 2016

The meeting was called to discuss legislation that the government is hopeful of passing in the upcoming Budget session beginning 23 February.
Written by Pradeep Kaushal , Abantika Ghosh | New Delhi | Updated: February 17, 2016 8:10 am
The NDA government faced some uncomfortable moments during an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday, when its own ally, Shiromani Akali Dal, said that minorities were feeling “uneasy and threatened”.
A number of issues, including remarks made by the PM on how “one family” was stalling Parliament and the crackdown on JNU students, came up during the meeting that was held to ensure the smooth conduct of the Budget session, starting February 23.
While the Congress and the Left raised the JNU issue and the suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad to criticise the government, Ministers Arun Jaitley and Ram Vilas Paswan put up a strident defence. The Prime Minister adopted a tone of reconciliation, thanking all parties for raising “relevant issues”.