The first indications that the session is going to be a stormy one has come in the form of 16 opposition parties deciding to boycott President Ram Nath Kovind’s address.
The stage is set for a face-off between the government and the Opposition during the Budget Session of Parliament starting January 29.
The first indications that the session is going to be a stormy one has come in the form of 16 opposition parties deciding to boycott President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the first day of the first Parliament session of 2021.
The parties have demanded a repeal of the three contentious farm laws, something the government is unwilling to do.
The farmer protests going on Delhi’s outskirts since November 26, 2020 and the related violence during a tractor rally that overshadowed the Republic Day celebrations have given a handle to the opposition to target the ruling BJP which has lost allies like Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab and Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party in Rajasthan.
With no signs of the deadlock between the Centre and the peasants getting resolved soon, the Budget Session will allow the parties to present themselves as champions of the food growers in contrast to the government’s claims that the controversial farm laws aim to push long-pending reforms in the agriculture sector.
Despite several attempts, the opposition parties have not been able to join the agitation which has been kept apolitical by the peasants.
Already, a blame game has started with the Congress and the Left parties accusing the BJP-backed elements of hijacking the tractor rally on Jan 26 with the Centre charging that the peasants failed to keep their protest peaceful.
The opposition parties condemned violence during the tractor rally but blamed the Centre for ignoring the plight of the peasants who have been protesting the farm laws for over two months in biting cold and winter rains.
The opposition is also miffed that the government skipped the Winter Session of Parliament, usually held in November every year, citing Covid-19 concerns but in reality, the Centre wanted to avoid facing criticism over its handling of the farmer protests and related deaths at Delhi’s borders.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament too was wound up a week ahead of the schedule in September last after several lawmakers tested Covid positive.
However, the manner in which the Centre rushed through the three farm laws then had sparked off a series of protests that continue to hog headlines.
Congress has sensed an opportunity to revive itself by protesting the three farm laws across the country but sustaining the movement is the real challenge before the grand old party.
The other issues that the opposition is expected to raise during the Budget Session to corner the Centre include the prevailing economic recession and the resultant high unemployment, price rise, the lingering border dispute in eastern Ladakh with China and the recent reports that the dragon country has come up with a village over disputed territory in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Ladakh border row has continued for 10 months now despite several rounds of diplomatic and military commander level talks between the two countries.
Though the Centre matched troop deployment by the Chinese along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and banned several Chinese apps to deter the aggressor, the much talked about the decoupling of the two economies remains a tall order.
Despite all this, the government is expected to paint a rosy picture in the Presidential address but the opposition will try its best to pick holes in the ruling BJP’s narrative when the Parliament takes up the debate to thank the President for his address.
But all eyes are on February 1, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Union Budget 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha.
The Union budget has aroused great expectations among policy experts as it is supposed to give a new direction to the Covid-hit economy and provide the much-needed booster to a negative Gross Domestic Product.
Before that, the health of the economy will get reflected in the Economic Survey likely to be released on Jan 29.
Besides economy, the handling of the pandemic and the ongoing vaccination drive to curb Covid-19 is also on the opposition’s radar which has been questioning the Centre’s strategy to deal with the health emergency.
Further, the action happening across four states West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala going to polls this summer, is also bound to get reflected inside the Parliament where the Congress, the Left parties, the DMK and the Trinamool Congress will get a chance to target the BJP.
For the Trinamool Congress, the session would be an opportunity to settle scores with the BJP, which has poached several senior party leaders and provoked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by not consulting her over a ceremony, attended by PM Modi, to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
How the opposition bonds together to counter the Centre in the two houses of Parliament will also show the level of unity these parties are able to achieve in their attempt to forge an anti-BJP front nationally.
Already, there have been murmurs around the projection of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar replacing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who does not keep good health, as the head of the United Progressive Alliance.
In reality, there is no formal position as the UPA chairperson, though Sonia at times plays anchor to the grouping that ruled the Centre from 2004-2014 and since then has been working in close coordination.
Interestingly, Mamata Banerjee had sought the counsel of Pawar when the Centre tried to recall three Indian Police Service officers from West Bengal over an attack on BJP chief JP Nadda’s convoy in Kolkata.
Pawar said the Centre’s move was against the federal structure and urged Banerjee to forge a national anti-BJP front.
Though the focus of the government would largely remain on getting the budget proposals passed, the Centre may bring bills related to personal data protection besides the pending bills to regulate DNA technology, the welfare of senior citizens and a bill to approve the recently set up commission to curb air pollution in Delhi NCR.
On his part, PM Modi will chair an all-party meeting on January 30 where he will lay out the legislative agenda for the Budget Session and test the mood of the opposition floor leaders while assuring them that the government is open to debate all issues.
However, the session may not turn out to be a smooth one if the opposition does not get a chance to voice its concerns.
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