Guess who's coming to PM's dinner? The BJP!

Reaching out to the principal opposition for smooth functioning of the upcoming Parliament session, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited BJP leaders, including LK Advani, for dinner on Saturday.

Besides Advani, Singh has invited leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley, sources said.

The meeting acquires significance as the BJP is preparing to corner the government over various issues like FDI in retail, corruption charges, hike in diesel price and cap on subsidised LPG cylinders during the Winter Session beginning on November 22.

The government is trying to rope in support of BJP to ensure passage crucial Bills which have been hanging fire for long. These include Lokpal Bill, Land Acquisition Bill and the Food Bill in the upcoming session besides the proposed legislations on insurance and pension.

"The Parliament session has a very heavy legislative agenda. We are reaching out to the various political parties to carry through these agenda in the four weeks that we have for the session," finance minister P Chidambaram said today at a press conference here.

"We sincerely hope that the forthcoming session will be a productive one and many bills will be passed...My suggestion is that not one issue should be blown out of proportion. There are many very important issues that concern the welfare of people and future of country," he added.