NEW DELHI: Ahead of the winter session of Parliament commencing from Monday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has called an all-party meeting on Saturday to enlist cooperation of leaders for smooth functioning of the House.
The Congress, pressing ahead with the demand for constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Rafale, is likely to turn the heat on the treasury benches.
The winter session is coming at a time when the BJP is staring at the prospects of its estranged ally Shiv Sena forming government in Maharashtra in alliance with the Congress and the NCP.
The Congress is also buoyed by a significant improvment in its performance in Haryana, forcing the BJP to strike a post-poll alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party to form government in the state.
The Parliament session will also coincide with the electioneering for the five- phase Jharkhand Assembly polls, with the Opposition likely to try and corner the government over economic slowdown and rising unemployment, among other issues.
The government, however, is looking at a productive session and hoping to push legislative business, which include the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill, which had lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. The NDA is presesing for the legislative proposal even while the Opposition stays firm against the Bill, favouring a focussed scrutiny of it by the parliamentary standing committee.