
NEW DELHI: The stage appears set for a stormy Budget session starting Friday, with the Opposition planning to corner the government on a range of issues, but chiefly the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Maha Kumbh stampede and the downward trend in economy.
At the all-party meeting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired on Thursday, Opposition parties sought discussions on a host of issues, including the procedural lapses in the Waqf Joint Parliamentary Committee’s functioning, the Kumbh episode and the new UGC draft guidelines.
President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of the two Houses on Friday, and the Budget will be presented on Saturday.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the session’s first leg will conclude on February 13 after a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address and a general discussion on the Budget. The second leg will begin on March 10 and end on April 4.
On a discussion on the stampede, Rijiju said the committee will decide. “There are many important issues. The Kumbh was mentioned,” he said.
Congress’ Jairam Ramesh, Kodikunnil Suresh, Gaurav Gogoi, Left leaders John Brittas, P Sandosh Kumar, and TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O’Brien, among others, attended the meeting.
Many Opposition MPs raised reservations over the ‘’bulldozing’’ of the Waqf panel’s procedures by chairman and the shabby treatment meted out to them. They called the JPC proceedings a “mockery of democracy and a farcical exercise”.
Sources said Samajwadi Party’s Ramgopal Yadav spoke about the Uttar Pradesh government’s failure in handling the arrangements at Prayagraj and accused it of not disclosing the number of deaths.
Opposition MPs also said that the composition of standing committees is tilted in favour of the BJP. “As many as 29 members of the BJP have been given multiple memberships in standing committees,” Brittas was quoted by sources as saying.