The Government and Opposition are set for bitter sparring in the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning Monday. The Government is set to bring around 32 important Bills in both the Houses, whereas the Opposition is ready with its own wish list to corner the ruling dispensation.
In an all-party meeting on Sunday, the Government sought the Opposition's help in "smooth conduct" of the Session, while the Opposition said it would raise issues of "price rise, inflation, the military recruitment scheme 'Agnipath', rising intolerance, the attack on federalism and Chinese incursion in Ladakh", in the upcoming session.
NDA floor leaders of the two Houses also met during the day and discussed the strategy for the conduct of the session where the Government will bring in 32 Bills.
The first day of the Monsoon Session will see voting for the presidential election. Some of the Bills that are on the pending list include The Indian Antarctica Bill, 2022. The Bill is pending in the Lok Sabha.
The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 was passed by the Lok Sabha and is yet to be passed by the Rajya Sabha.
The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 is pending in the Lok Sabha, The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, and the National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021 are also pending in the Lok Sabha.
The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 (in respect of State of UP - amendment regarding change of district name to be approved by Cabinet) was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2022.
New Bills to be introduced in the Parliament during the Monsoon session include The Central Universities Amendment Bill, 2022.
In the all-party meeting, the Opposition questioned the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which raised their hackles.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted: "All Party Meeting to discuss forthcoming session of Parliament has just begun and the Prime Minister, as usual, is absent. Isn't this 'unparliamentary'?"
The last time the Prime Minister skipped the meeting ahead of the Budget Session.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi defended the Government by saying "former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had given a miss to many such meets."