File Photo: Congress President Sonia Gandhi (Press Trust of India)
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is all set to host an Iftar dinner on Monday in New Delhi, where Opposition leaders are likely to deliberate on the strategy for the monsoon session of Parliament that's beginning on July 21.
The only key absentee will be Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, who will be hosting his own Iftar party in Patna. But his alliance partner, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will attend the party in Delhi.
Those attending will include Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Trinamool Congress lawmaker Derek O'Brien, who'd be attending in lieu of Mamata Banerjee.
The Congress hopes the Iftar would set the tone and augur a reprisal of the budget session, when the land bill brought the opposition together. This time, turbulence is expected over Vyapam scam, and senior BJP leaders' links with tainted cricket mogul Lalit Modi, and the land bill.
The Congress plans to seek resignation of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over Vyapam scam and the removal of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over the controversy surrounding Lalit Modi.
The opposition is also expected to put up a united front against any dilution in the Land Acquisition Act passed under the UPA regime. A parliamentary panel, headed by BJP's SS Ahluwalia is examining the amended bill and is expected to submit its report to the Parliament by the end of July.
In its official response, though, the Congress has downplayed the politics of Iftar. The party also appeared cautious about commenting on the guest list.
"They have been our old friends. When we send them an invitation, it is to tell them that we respect and honour them," party spokesperson Raj Babbar told NDTV.
The cautious government said it is ready for talks on every issue. "We want to move ahead through dialogue as bills in Parliament don't belong to any party. It is for the country," junior minister of Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told NDTV.