On Friday, the Aam Aadmi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal fumed after they weren’t invited to PM Modi’s all-party meet on the China situation.
According to reports, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh personally dialled party presidents last evening to invite them.
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tejashvi Yadav told ANI: “Rashtriya Janata Dal is the largest party in Bihar & it has 5 MPs in the Parliament but we have not been invited to today's all-party meeting on #IndiaChinaFaceOff. We want Rajnath Singh ji to clarify as to why RJD hasn't been invited.”
Meanwhile, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also tweeted to the same effect.
He wrote: “In times like these, there is a need to move forward while being united. You only chant 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' but do not wish to take everyone along.”
Senior Opposition leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee are expected to attend the meet.
Sources told NDTV that RJD and AAP didn’t make the cut because they didn’t have five MPs in parliament.
If one were to follow that logic then RJD would’ve made the cut. While Lalu’s party drew a blank in Lok Sabha 2019 – the first time since its formation – it does have five Rajya Sabha MPs. It’s also the single largest party in Bihar with 81 seats.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party only has a total of four MPs. Bhagwant Mann is the sole Lok Sabha MP from the party, while Narain Gupta, Sushil Kumar Gupta and Sanjay Jha are its representatives in the Upper House.
While representatives to the lower house of parliament are picked in Lok Sabha elections, representatives to the Upper House follow a more complex route. Rajya Sabha has 245 members of which 233 are elected by state legislatures and 12 are nominated by the President. The bicameral system has been criticised in the past with some stating that the Upper House didn’t serve its purpose as a proper check and balance to the Lok Sabha.
