Monsoon Session To Begin With Economic Survey, All Eyes On NDA's Union Budget As Oppn Looks To Target Govt
Parliament Monsoon's Session opens with the Economic Survey tabling on Monday. The 19-day session until August 12 will witness Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Union Budget on Tuesday.
Parliament's Monsoon Session is set to begin with the tabling of the Economic Survey in Parliament on Monday. The session, commencing on Monday, will have 19 sittings until August 12. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday. The united opposition is poised to corner the NDA government on issues such as the NEET paper leak case and railway safety while the ruling dispensation faces demands of own allies for special category status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
The Budget session, starting on Monday, will have 19 sittings until August 12, with the government expected to present six bills, including one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey on Monday and present the budget the next day.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju chaired a meeting with the floor leaders of political parties on Sunday to understand the issues they wish to raise.
Opposition Sets Stage To Corner Modi-Led Govt At Parliament Monsoon Session
On the eve of Parliament's Budget session, opposition parties laid out their agenda, demanding discussions on several contentious issues at an all-party meeting on Sunday. The demands included the Uttar Pradesh government's order to eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route, exam paper leaks, and the recent spate of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
The government, breaking from recent practices, invited numerous smaller parties to signal its political outreach, news agency PTI reported. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed the government's willingness to discuss all issues but emphasised that it should be in accordance with the rules. He called for cooperation from all parties to ensure the smooth running of Parliament, highlighting it as a collective responsibility.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, chairing the meeting, urged against disruptions in Parliament, asserting the need to maintain its sanctity.
Several BJP allies and opposition parties joined in seeking special category status for various states, presenting the government with a challenging issue. Representatives from the JD(U), BJD, and YSR Congress Party demanded the status for Bihar, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, respectively. The RJD and BJP ally LJP (Ram Vilas) also echoed the demand for Bihar.
Congress leader K Suresh told reporters that the Congress, along with other INDIA bloc members, sought the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker's position for the opposition according to convention, PTI reported. They also flagged the need for discussions on other issues, including the situation in Manipur, train accidents, unemployment, and price rise.
The Congress raised concerns about alleged irregularities in exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, following the recent resignation of its chairperson for reportedly personal reasons.
The stand taken by several opposition parties, including the Congress, DMK, and AAP, indicates that the political heat sparked by the Uttar Pradesh government's order asking eateries to display their owners' names on the Kanwar Yatra route will reach Parliament. Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that the move targeted Muslims and accused the ruling BJP of pursuing communally divisive politics, according to PTI.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and AAP's Sanjay Singh also criticised the decision at the meeting.
Singh also raised the issue of misuse of central probe agencies and accused the Modi government of targeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in the excise policy case. Singh claimed the Centre has been allocating only Rs 350 crore to Delhi for the past nine years and predicted the same allocation in the upcoming budget.
DMK's Tiruchi Siva criticised the government for its handling of the NEET medical entrance examination and called for a discussion on the issue.
Rajnath Singh recalled the opposition's relentless protests during Prime Minister Modi's reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in the previous session, urging against such disruptions.
The meeting, which lasted over three hours, saw attendance from 55 leaders, including BJP President J P Nadda, Congress' Jairam Ramesh, and Union Minister and LJP leader Chirag Paswan. The TMC was not represented due to its annual 'Martyrs' Day' rally in Kolkata.
Jairam Ramesh, who posted points raised by different parties on social media, remarked on the changed political climate, noting the BJD leader's reminder to BJP leaders about their 2014 manifesto promise of special category status for Odisha. Ramesh also highlighted the universal demand for reopening the Central Hall for MPs to interact.
NDA Govt Expected To Introduce 6 Bills In Monsoon Session
During the session, the government is expected to present six bills, including one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act, and seek Parliament's approval for the budget of Jammu and Kashmir, which is under central rule.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated that the opposition would resist any government move to reduce its stake in public sector banks below 51 per cent. The government is likely to propose amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and other related laws in the Budget Session, which could potentially lower the government's shareholding in PSBs below 51 per cent, PTI reported.
Among the bills listed for introduction, consideration, and passage are the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, which aims to clarify and converge the roles of various organisations in disaster management, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin issued on Thursday. The Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024 seeks to replace the Aircraft Act of 1934 to facilitate ease of doing business in the civil aviation sector. Additionally, the session will see the introduction and passage of the Boilers Bill, the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, and the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), chaired by himself, to decide the parliamentary agenda. The committee members include Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC), P P Chaudhary (BJP), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Nishikant Dubey (BJP), Gaurav Gogoi (Congress), Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP), Dileshwar Kamait (JD-U), Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJP), Dayanidhi Maran (DMK), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT), Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress), Anurag Thakur (BJP), and Lalji Verma (SP).
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