Bhubaneswar, July 21: Leaders of various parties on Sunday attended an all-party meeting convened by the state government ahead of the budget session of the Odisha assembly, which will start on Monday.

The budget session will commence with the address of Governor Raghubar Das.

“Detailed discussions held on the suggestions made by the leaders of all the political parties during the meeting to ensure the smooth conduct of the current session of the 17th Odisha assembly,” said Speaker Surama Padhy who chaired the all-party meeting.

“The new government’s first session is going to begin on Monday. We hope that the house will run smoothly under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and the guidance of Speaker Padhy,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling told the media persons.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Majhi and Deputy Chief Minister K.V. Singh Deo in a rare gesture of statesmanship went to the residence of former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik on Sunday and requested him to attend the all-party meeting.

“Today morning, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi met the LoP Naveen Patnaik at his home and invited him to participate in the all-party meeting. Chief Minister Majhi also urged Patnaik to attend the assembly session regularly and offer his constructive suggestions to the government,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling said.

Though the LoP skipped the meeting, the Chief Whip of Biju Janata Dal and former Speaker Pramila Mallik attended the meeting.

Mallik told reporters, after the all-party meeting, that the leaders deliberated on how to run the house smoothly and peacefully.

However, the leaders from the opposition Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) skipped the all-party meeting.

Notably, the election for the Deputy Speaker post is scheduled to be held on July 24 while the BJP government will present its first budget for the 2024-25 financial year in the assembly on July 25.

The budget session will continue from July 22 till September 13.(IANS)

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