NEW DELHI: The Budget session of Parliament, which starts on Friday with President Droupadi Murmu’s address, is once again likely to be contentious. The first signs of it emerged at Thursday’s all-party meeting attended by representatives from 36 parties, where opposition vowed to raise issues, such as the Maha Kumbh stampede and waqf bill.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju sought cooperation from all parties for a productive session, saying that the business advisory committee would decide which issues would be taken up for discussion.
The winter session witnessed severe disruption, leading to a scuffle in which two MPs were injured.
At all-party meet, JDU seeks extension for JPC on ONOE
When asked about the stampede at Maha Kumbh, Rijiju said the issue was also mentioned for discussion.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who chaired the meeting on Thursday, informed parties about the legislative agenda and sought their inputs. According to sources, Singh mentioned that Uttar Pradesh govt had ordered a probe into the tragedy in Prayagraj.
Opposition parties, including Congress and Samajwadi Party, protested the functioning of Joint Parliamentary Committee on waqf bill. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh criticised the committee’s operations, calling it a “farce” on X.
“It has made a complete mockery of all parliamentary traditions and practices. Such committees used to be a force to be reckoned with – now they have been reduced to being a farce to be reckoned with,” he said.
Including waqf bill, govt on Thursday circulated a list of 16 bills that are likely to be taken up during the session. The list includes waqf bill, banking laws and disaster management bills, immigration and foreigners bill, finance bill and coastal shipping bill.
While the last session saw opposition parties divided over Adani, Congress’s Pramod Tiwari said INDIA bloc would collectively address issues during the Budget session. He and SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav criticised the management of VIP movements at Kumbh, claiming it inconvenienced common pilgrims.
During the meeting, BJP’s ally JDU sought an extension in the tenure of JPC scrutinising bills proposing simultaneous elections, while another partner, LJP (Ram Vilas), demanded a “special industrial package” for Bihar. Sources said JDU working president Sanjay Jha called for an extension in the tenure of the JPC, which was asked to submit its report by the first day of the last week of the Budget session.
The party said it sought the extension as the committee has met only once and that such an important piece of legislation would require wide consultations. The second meeting of the panel is scheduled on Friday.
BJD’s Sasmit Patra criticised Centre for not fulfilling its promise from 2014 manifesto to grant special category status to Odisha.
Meanwhile, BJP president J P Nadda is scheduled to chair a strategy meeting with NDA MPs from both Houses on Friday after tabling of the Economic Survey.