Leaders tracking party lines Saturday demanded a discussion on price increase in the Lok Sabha during the budget meeting that begins Monday.

At a conference presided by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar prior to the session, "all party leaders demanded discussion on price rise in the house", said a partaker who did not want to be named. "It was an almost unanimous demand."

Meira called the meeting to seek the backing of leaders to guarantee smooth implementation of the house during the budget meeting.

The Left party heads demanded that parliament meet for 100 days annually.

Kerala Congress-Mani (KC-M) head Jose K. Mani asked for an increase in local area growth fund for MPs.

"The present amount (Rs. 2 crore) is very inadequate," he told.

The meeting will begin Monday with the president's lecture to both houses and end May 7, with a break of over three weeks in between.

The general budget will be announced on Feb 26 and the railway budget on Feb 24. (With Input from Agencies)