New Delhi: Parliament is set for a heated week as the government prepares to push important bills while the Opposition is set to step up its campaign against Union Home Minister Amit Shah over alleged police excesses during NEET paper leak protests and the Chanda Chori (donation theft) row involving Ayodhyas Ram temple.
Both Houses are scheduled to resume proceedings today (August 3), with the Centre looking to secure the passage of at least six bills in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Opposition has planned a coordinated strategy to raise issues in Parliament and continue street-level protests outside the House.
Opposition plans offensive against Shah
Opposition floor leaders have decided to continue their campaign against the Union home minister, with parties seeking a statement from him on the handling of protests and other issues under his ministry.
Shah has not responded to these demands so far. His absence during debates on several Home Ministry-related bills has also been raised by Opposition leaders. These included legislation dealing with insults to Vande Mataram, amendments related to delayed registration of births and deaths and the law against unfair practices in public examinations.
The Opposition is also expected to continue raising the Chanda Chori issue during the session. The campaign relates to allegations surrounding donations collected for the Ayodhya Ram temple, a charge denied by those associated with the temple trust.
During a protest near Makar Dwar in Parliament, Independent MP Pappu Yadav dressed as a priest and staged a demonstration alleging misuse of temple donations. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also joined the protest.
BJP leaders criticised the demonstration, while Opposition parties said they would continue using creative methods to highlight the issue.
BJP prepares counter-attack
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun preparing its response to the Opposition campaign. Senior party MP Anurag Thakur has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking breach of privilege proceedings against Gandhi over remarks made in the House.
The ruling party has accused the Opposition of making personal attacks and using parliamentary proceedings for political messaging. BJP leaders are expected to counter the Oppositions allegations during the weeks debates.
Bills lined up for Parliament
The government plans to take up several bills during the week. These include the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Amendment) Bill, the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, the Indian Statistical Institution Bill, the Bankers Books Evidence Bill and the Appropriation Bill for Demands for Excess Grants for 2022-23.
The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill has been cleared by Parliament and received the Presidents assent. The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill and the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill have also been passed by the Lok Sabha.
The Foreign Contribution Regulation (Amendment) Bill, which was deferred during the Budget Session, could also be brought before the Lok Sabha around the middle of the week. The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill has been circulated among MPs despite not being part of the official list of business, suggesting that it could also come up for discussion.
The reworked Delimitation Bill, which could not move ahead earlier this year, is not expected to be introduced in the ongoing session.
With the governments legislative plans and the Oppositions protest strategy set to clash, the coming days are expected to witness intense political exchanges in and outside Parliament.