Even as the Opposition has drawn up plans to put the government on the mat by bringing up a host of issues during Parliament’s monsoon session beginning on Wednesday, the ruling UPA combine on Tuesday reached out to the main Opposition BJP, in order to ensure the passage of pending Bills and the transaction of other legislative business.
Since the government has accorded top priority to get the pending Bills passed in the month-long session, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal is all set to rush through the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010 on the opening day itself.
Similarly, Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath is gearing up to move the Protection of Women Against Sexual harassment at Work Place Bill in the Lower House.
The Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, will start its proceedings by paying tributes to the memory of its deceased former members and Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna.
Despite the Centre’s efforts, the session is likely to be a stormy affair, at least in the first few days as a result of the Opposition plan to target the government and Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the Aircel-Maxis issue.
The BJP will demand a discussion on the Assam violence in both the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday. And the party has made it quite clear that it will disrupt the proceedings if its demand is not accepted.
Already, the Opposition has submitted notices to raise various issues and 29 motions have already been admitted under Rule 189 to discuss issues ranging from farmers’ plight to terrorist activities.
With the services of former pointman Pranab Mukherjee no longer available to the government due to his election as President, it was left to Finance Minister P Chidambaram to take the initiative in reaching out to the Opposition.
And Chidambaram met Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and held discussions on pending Bills and other issues. He had also called on BJP Parliamentary Party chief L K Advani on Sunday with a similar brief.