Rahul Gandhi and TMC leader in Lok Sabha skip all-party meeting on West Asia crisis ::: "We will all have to stand together"

 On the all-party meeting, 

BJP MP Brij Lal says, "It is unfortunate that our opposition parties repeatedly said that an all-party meeting should be held, there should be a discussion on our foreign policy, but when the meeting took place, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and the TMC leader did not attend. 

These are the parties that only create fake narratives in the media; this is not appropriate for democracy."

Defence minister Rajnath Singh chaired the all-party meeting, and External Affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar and Petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri were in attendance.

The all-party meeting was conducted inside the Parliament building.

Rajya Sabha’s Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge contested the decision and demanded that instead of a briefing, the issue should be debated in the House.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi told reporters at the Parliament House Complex that he would not be able to attend the all-party meeting as he is scheduled to attend a programme in Kerala.

The all-party meeting comes after PM Narendra Modi addressed Parliament on Monday and Tuesday, urging countrymen to “be prepared for every challenge”. 

There is a strong possibility that the ill effects of this war will last for a long time, he said in his Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha speeches.

Modi said the government has constituted seven empowered groups to evolve strategies on fuel, supply chains and fertilisers, among others, and stem the impact of the Iran-Israel-US conflict.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju says, "I have heard in detail all the suggestions made by the opposition party and from the government side, all the queries and all the confusion, whatever was there, all were clearly explained by the government.

.....  the opposition at the end of the meeting stated, which is very important, that they thank the government for calling this all party meeting and they also asserted that in such difficult challenging situation 

...  we will all have to stand together". 

ends