Budget session: Cong likely to call meeting of oppn parties

Congress is likely to convene a meeting of opposition leaders ahead of the Budget session of Parliament so as to ensure coordination among them on the floor of the House to corner the government on various issues. A senior Congress leader, who declined to be identified, said talks with other "like-minded" parties was almost a certainty ahead of the session. The government is set to take a decision this week on the schedule of the session, which is likely to begin on February 23.

There has been no such formal consultation among the opposition parties ahead of parliament sessions since the BJP-led NDA came to power 20 months ago. The Pathankot terror strike, imposition of President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and suicide by a dalit research scholar at Hyderabad Central University are among the matters on which opposition parties could make a common cause. The Budget session comes ahead of assembly elections in five states -- West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala.