PM Modi attends NDA's Mangal Milan as sports achievements and employment initiatives take centre stage

Prime Minister Narendra Modi senior Union ministers and leaders of National Democratic Alliance NDA constituent parties attended the coalitions weekly parliamentary meeting on Tuesday where presentations focused on Indias sporting achievements and employment generation initiatives undertaken by the central governmentThe meeting known as Mangal Milan was held at the Parliament House complex in New Delhi and was attended by several senior BJP leaders and representatives of NDA alliesBJP president Nitin Nabin was seen seated next to Prime Minister Modi during the meeting a day after the party suffered a setback in the Bankipur Assembly byelection in Bihar where Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor defeated the BJP candidateThe Bankipur bypoll was necessitated after Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha and his appointment as BJP presidentPresentation highlights Indias sporting progressSpeaking to reporters after the meeting BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya delivered a detailed presentation outlining the governments initiatives to strengthen the countrys sports ecosystem since 2014According to Tiwari the presentation highlighted Indias improved performance at major international sporting events including the Olympic Games Asian Games and Commonwealth GamesHe said the governments sports policy introduced in 2014 has contributed to Indias growing success on the global stage resulting in an increase in medals including gold medals at international competitionsThe presentation also highlighted efforts to develop sports infrastructure encourage athlete participation and expand support systems for sportspersons across the countryEmployment generation figures presented to MPsThe meeting also featured a presentation on employment opportunities and initiatives aimed at creating jobs for young peopleAccording to Manoj Tiwari the government shared data comparing employment figures under the previous United Progressive Alliance UPA government and the current administrationWe were told at the Mangal Milan that between 2004 and 2014 when UPA was in power only 289 crore youth got the jobs while between 2014 and 2026 a total of 171 crore youth got the employment Tiwari saidHe added that the presentation emphasised that employment opportunities for young people have continued to increase over the years through various government initiativesSocial security schemes also discussedApart from sports and employment NDA parliamentarians were briefed on various social security schemes implemented by the central governmentThe presentations reviewed welfare initiatives and highlighted programmes aimed at expanding financial assistance and social protection for different sections of societyBJP MP P P Chaudhary described the meeting as productive and said it provided an opportunity for alliance members to discuss government initiatives and parliamentary mattersNDA allies participate in coalition meetingThe meeting was attended by representatives of several NDA constituent parties including Janata Dal United Janata Dal Secular Nationalist Congress Party Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party IndiaNationalist Congress Party India leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay who recently left the Trinamool Congress to join the party said it was his first time attending the NDA parliamentary meetingI am one of the senior most parliamentarians in the country All are united in NCPI It is a good experience he saidAmong the senior Union ministers present at the meeting were Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Home Minister Amit Shah Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar along with several other members of the Union Cabinet and NDA leadershipWith inputs from PTI