NEW DELHI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday reiterated his appeal to the country's opposition parties to ensure that the monsoon session "is truly productive".
"It is my sincere hope and prayer, and appeal to all section of house (Parliament) to ensure this session is truly productive. We have wasted lot of time in previous session, and I hope that will not be repeated in this session," Singh said on the first day of the monsoon session.
He added: "We are willing to discuss on floor of house and therefore I appeal to opposition to cooperate in smooth running of the house to ensure this session is productive and constructive."
The prime minister on Saturday also appealed to the opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for ensuring a productive session where the government plans to pass many key pending legislation, including the National Food Security Bill, earlier passed through an executive order.
The opposition had protested against the government's passing the food bill and even sought a debate on the issue in Parliament. They claim the bill was an election game plan by the government to win votes in next year's polls while the authorities say the scheme was to ensure food security for the 800 million poor.
Many earlier Parliament sessions were wasted after the opposition stalled proceedings, protesting against various scams allegedly done by the government, including the Commonwealth Games scandal, the telecom scam and the coal scam.
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