Cooperate on land bill, Modi tells parties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged all political parties to move forward on the land acquisition bill that has created a major national divide.

"All party leaders should move forward on the bill," the prime minister told an all-party meeting here, a day before parliament opens its monsoon session.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy quoted Modi as saying that his government was willing to accept all good suggestions from opposition parties on various issues.

He added that it was the collective responsibility of the parties to ensure a smooth functioning of parliament.

Rudy spoke to reporters after the all-party meet convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu to discuss the agenda for the session.

The meeting was attended by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Janata Dal-United's Sharad Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Mishra and CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury among others.