NDA's 'Mangal Milan' Set for Today; NCPI Receives First-Ever Invitation

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is holding its weekly 'Mangal Milan' meeting on Tuesday, July 28, with a notable first-time participant—the newly formed Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The gathering is being held at 9:30 am in the GMC Balayogi Auditorium at the Parliament Library Building.

This marks the first occasion that former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, who recently joined the NCPI, are attending the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting. Senior NCPI parliamentarians, including Sudeep Bandopadhyay, Kakoli Ghosh, Shatabdi Roy, Sharmila Sarkar, Mitali Bagh and several others, are expected to take part in the session. The meeting comes amid a turbulent Monsoon Session of Parliament, with heated debates over examination reforms and Opposition protests concerning alleged police action against students. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address NDA MPs during the gathering.

At an earlier edition of the Mangal Milan meeting, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Prime Minister had assured party members that the government fully supports students in the wake of concerns surrounding the NEET examination paper leak. Modi reportedly stressed that those responsible for any irregularities should face strict action and emphasised that examination paper leaks are a national issue that should not be turned into a political controversy. The Opposition had briefly walked out of an all-party meeting earlier after objecting to the government's decision to invite the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), highlighting the political tensions surrounding the party's inclusion.