The PNB scam will raise the temperatures in Parliament when it resumes its session on Monday as the Congress has given notice for an adjournment motion in the Rajya Sabha on the issue. The party will raise the matter in the lok Sabha too. While an upbeat ruling BJP, buoyed by its impressive performance in three State polls is not likely to relent on the Opposition demands.
Both the houses of Parliament will meet after a month-long recess in the Budget Session, during which the passage of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, which seeks confiscation of assets of absconding fraudsters and loan defaulters, and the triple talaq bill will be high on the Government's agenda.
Congress leaders said that they would soon be holding a meeting with other opposition parties to chalk out a joint strategy for the session. The aim is to corner the Government unitedly and demand answers from it on various issues which it has evaded in the past, a leader from the party said.
CPI leader D Raja said the issue of PNB fraud will be taken up and the new bills that the Government proposes to bring would also be discussed. "We will demand answers from the Government on how the fraud happened. The banking sector is in a deep crisis and its credibility is under stake," he said.
Raja also said that issues pertaining to atrocities and crimes against Dalits and women, which he claimed were on the rise, would also be taken up. He, however, said the financial crimes will be the highlight of the session.
TMC leader Derek O'Brien said his party is for a debate and a discussion in Parliament, and would evolve a joint opposition strategy soon. "We will coordinate with other opposition parties to expose this BJP government that has not delivered on their promises. I don't want to name any particular issue as there are many. We have issues for every day in Parliament," he said. O'Brien also claimed that the BJP had gone "overboard" with its victory in Tripura.
"If you look at the bypoll results of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha, it is very clear that their tally will come down," he said. The TMC leader claimed that Prime Minister Modi will not deliver his address from the Red Fort in 2019. "If their target is West Bengal our target is Red Fort. BJP did not win Tripura, the left surrendered it," he said.
The bill to target economic offenders was approved by the government following the escape of diamond merchant Nirav Modi and other accused in the over Rs 12,700-crore Punjab National Bank scam. The opposition has sought to pin the blame for the fraud on the Government and mounted an attack on it by pointing out that Modi, after liquor baron Vijay Mallya, is the second big offender to flee India with a huge amount of money owed to public banks.
The BJP has claimed that the PNB scam had begun when the UPA was in power and its Government has acted with alacrity after the fraud came out in the open. Treasury benches and opposition are likely to slug it out in Parliament over the matter. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has launched pointed attacks at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over this issue. The BJP, however, has been energised following its win in Tripura and impressive performance in Nagaland and Meghalaya elections coupled with a comprehensive defeat of the Congress.
The ruling party is likely to be aggressive in Parliament and rake up scams that happened on the Congress watch to pin it down, party sources said.
The triple talaq bill, which seeks jail term for Muslim men practising instant divorce, is another contentious issue. The BJP has made it clear that it will seek its passage in Parliament despite a strong opposition to it from parties like the Congress and the left among others.
The passage of the OBC bill, which envisages constitutional status for the OBC commission, is another item on the government's agenda. Parliament will also take up a discussion on the Union budget, which was tabled in the first half of the session, and pass it.
In the lok Sabha, Centre intends to bring The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017, and The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2017, on Monday, and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2017, on Tuesday.
In the Rajya Sabha, the government has listed The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017, and The State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017, for the first day of the session.