Delhi: The monsoon session of Parliament is going to start from Monday. Earlier, in the all-party meeting held on Sunday, signs of conflict between the government and the opposition were clearly visible. In the meeting chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, the government appealed to all parties for cooperation in running the House smoothly.
At the same time, the opposition made it clear that it will corner the government on the allegations of theft of Ram temple offerings and other issues. At the same time, the government will present a bill in the Rajya Sabha, under which insulting ‘Vande Mataram’ or obstructing its singing will be considered a criminal offense. There is a provision for a jail sentence of up to 3 years.
When the government appealed to all parties for cooperation in running the House smoothly, the opposition made clear its intention to corner the government on many issues. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has already said that his party will oppose issues like FCRA Amendment Bill, Developed India Education Foundation Bill, proposed amendments in the National Food Security Act, delimitation. Before the session, a strategy to corner the government will be chalked out in the meeting of opposition leaders in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Monday.
DMK raised the issue of interests of southern states
In the meeting, DMK said that it would not support such delimitation proposal which would affect the interests of the southern states. The party demanded that the moratorium on delimitation be extended for another 25 years. According to sources, DMK Lok Sabha leader T.R. Baalu said that his party is not against women’s reservation, but it should be implemented on existing Lok Sabha seats. Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva said that if delimitation goes against the interests of the southern states, his party will demand extension of the moratorium on delimitation by 25 years.
The issue of theft of Ram temple donations also came up
In the all-party meeting, many opposition parties including Congress, SP and TMC raised the issue of theft of Ram temple offerings. Congress’ Lok Sabha deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi and Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav termed it a serious matter and demanded a detailed discussion in Parliament.
‘Get the bill passed with meaningful discussion’
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that all parties should pass the bills with meaningful discussion. Rijiju termed the decision of calling NCPI in the meeting appropriate. Said that this group had demanded separate seating arrangement from the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Initially the opposition walked out
Opposition parties symbolically staged a walkout in protest against calling NCPI, the new group of 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs, for an all-party meeting. However, after a few minutes he joined the meeting again. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that all the opposition parties walked out of the all-party meeting for a few minutes. This was in protest against the Modi government calling NCPI for an all-party meeting. At the same time, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra said that NCPI is not a recognized party yet.
‘Wangchuk and students will surround the movement’
Opposition parties also raised the issue of social activist Sonam Wangchuk’s fast and police action against her. CPI(M) MP John Brittas said the government was facing a serious credibility crisis. He also raised the issue of apprehensions arising regarding citizenship documents. The opposition indicated that on the first day it would support the proposed Parliament march by students over the NEET and CBSE controversy. The opposition will raise the demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Speaker’s meeting with representatives of all parties
A meeting of the Business Advisory Committee was held under the chairmanship of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday evening. The Speaker called representatives of all parties to express their views on issues of public interest. The government and members of all parties shared their views on legal and other matters to be taken up in the session. The Speaker appealed that all parties should cooperate in running the proceedings smoothly.