Amidst raging issues like that of the JNU row, Jat reservation, Pathankot terror strike etc, the Budget Session of Parliament which begins on Tuesday is likely to be a stormy affair with the belligerent Opposition ready to take head on with the Centre even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made efforts for a disruption free proceedings.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu will hold another all-party meeting on Monday to reach out to political rivals for smooth functioning of Parliament while lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will also hold consultations with leaders of all parties in the House. Rajya Sabha chairman already conducted a meeting of all party leaders of Saturday in anticipation of a smooth functioning since the Upper House remains the most distracted where Opposition is in majority. Modi met with leaders of opposition parties on February 16.
The Government is keen to push its legislative agenda in the Budget session, including the pending bills on GST and real estate, thwarted in the last two sessions, while the opposition is raring to target it on a host of issues, including the JNU row, Hyderabad Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s suicide, imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh, and terror attacks in Pathankot and Gurdaspur.
Raising questions over the process of the appointment of Vice Chancellors of JNU and Delhi University, a number of opposition parties have come together against the Government, accusing it of “undermining” the autonomy of the institutions.
The Congress Working Committee meeting has convened on Monday to set the tone for the Budget session and finalise its floor strategy for the session.
The Government has already said it is open to debating the JNU row in Parliament or any other issue that the Opposition wants to take up. Naidu had also held a meeting of leaders of a number of opposition parties on February 4 where it was decided to have a full-length session and not to go for any curtailment of its duration despite assembly elections in five States.
The Government has a heavy legislative agenda to push through in this session. A list of 74 items of business has been compiled by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs on the basis of responses received from various ministries and departments which, according to sources, contain 62 legislative Items and 12 financial Items.
It was decided to give 26 items ‘top priority’ as the ministries wanted them to be introduced and passed in the Budget session itself. A total of 16 bills, including the GST Bill, lokpal(Amendment) Bill, Factories (Amendment) Bill and the Anti-Hijacking Bill are pending in Parliament -- five in lok Sabha and 11 in the Rajya Sabha. The Government will also push for the passage of a bill to replace the ordinance to amend the Enemy Property Act, which was promulgated on January 8.