It is high time the Opp stood united and formed a strategy to keep the Govt on its toes in the Budget Session

The forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament is likely to be a boisterous one, with a lot of controversial issues expected to be raised by the Opposition. Although Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has stated that the Narendra Modi Government is ready to face all the issues, the Opposition is sharpening its knives. This Parliament session is important as it is the first one of the year. Though it is being held amid the Covid-19 pandemic, all protocols will be in place to protect the members. The Parliament session will commence on January 29 and conclude by April 8, with a recess of 20 days between February 15 and March 8. President Ram Nath Kovind will address the customary joint session on January 29. This will be followed by the placing of the Economic Survey the next day and on February 1, the Union Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It will be her third consecutive one. Budget making in the middle of a raging pandemic is a difficult process and breaking the age-old tradition the Finance Ministry will not print the Union Budget for 2021 and will go paperless. All eyes are on the Government as the Budget would shed light on how the Centre allocates the funds to different sectors. Almost all the pillars of the economy are affected and it is going to be a challenge to balance revenue and expenditure. Sitharaman has promised to build a “stronger economy” and stated that the Budget will be an unprecedented one, as never before in living memory has a Government faced a situation “where tax collections are struggling to keep up with the budgeted number” and “the demand for goods and services is sluggish.”

The Opposition has enough ammunition to attack the Government with, including the Covid vaccination drive, the ongoing farmers’ agitation, the struggling economy, China’s aggressive postures, price rise, the job loss scenario, the continuation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) agitation, the plan to construct a new Parliament building, allegedly at a budget of `20,000 crore and so on. A senior Congress leader claims that though the political parties stayed away from the farmers’ agitation but in Parliament, they will be vocal about their support to the growers. The Opposition plans to question the Government on employment generation, reverse migration, the border impasse with China and Indo-Pakistan relations, the Government’s handling of the pandemic and the vaccination drive that was kicked off on January 16. Plus, weak States would seek more financial assistance to deal with the pandemic and the Health Ministry and other important sectors need more allocation of funds. The Finance Minister has said: “The Budget would take note of all the inputs received from the health sector to take this forward.”

The Government is also getting ready with some key legislation like the Personal Data Protection Bill, pending Bills from last year, including the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill and the Dam Safety Bill.

However, the big question is whether the highly divided Opposition will be effective in cornering the Government in Parliament? There is no leader tall enough to unite them, although Congress chief Sonia Gandhi tries to hold a meeting before the Parliament session each year. However, the Congress is undergoing a crisis with a section of leaders questioning the Gandhi family. The party has bought time with the promise of an AICC session in early 2021. According to senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, there will be floor coordination. There are speculations that the non-BJP, non-Congress Opposition might unite under Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.

Though the BJP is close to getting a majority in the Rajya Sabha, the strategy is to divide the Opposition to get even controversial legislations passed. That was how the NDA Government managed to get legislation like the triple talaq, the CAA, repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, passed. The Opposition should change its strategy of walkouts, rushing to the Well of the House and so on and instead focus on participating in debates and raising issues so that the Government is forced to answer questions. The lawmakers should fulfil their duty of scrutinising the Budget and keep the Government on its toes. The way a responsible Opposition would function is to use the Question Hour, Calling Attention Motions and debate on the President’s address to hold the Government accountable. On its part, the Government, too, should take the Opposition into confidence. Sadly for the nation, both believe in confrontation. With elections to five States on the horizon, all the parties will play to the gallery. It is a matter of concern that the country lacks a strong and vigilant Opposition because a vibrant democracy needs one. The Opposition parties should show a united face in Parliament. When the late Rajiv Gandhi won 403 seats in 1984, the Opposition with a dozen vocal leaders, highlighted the Bofors Scam successfully, which led to his ouster. So it is not the numbers that matter but the strategy to deal with the Government that is important. It is high time the Opposition stood united and formed a strategy to keep the Government on its toes.

(The writer is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal.)