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Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju, J P Nadda, Arjun Ram Meghwal, TMC MPs Satabdi Roy and Sagarika Ghose after the all-party meeting ahead of Budget Session in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI)
On the eve of the Budget Session of Parliament, a united Opposition demanded discussions on foreign policy, Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the VB-G RAM G Act. However, during an all-party meeting on Tuesday, the government turned down demands for discussions on SIR and the Act which replaced MGNREGA. The Opposition also slammed the government for not circulating the list of legislative business for the upcoming session.
The Budget Session will commence on Wednesday and continue till April 2. The first phase will conclude on February 13, with Parliament reassembling on March 9.
From the government side, the all-party meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju among others. The Opposition was represented by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, TMC’s Sagarika Ghose, CPI(M)’s John Brittas, CPI’s P Sandosh Kumar, among others.
Sources said that the Opposition parties flagged concerns over the government not sharing the list of legislative business for the upcoming session.
“After the meeting, they circulated a list of pending bills. The government said the intended agenda will be circulated after the President’s Address,” said an Opposition MP who was present at the meeting.
On the foreign policy front, the Opposition raised issues like repeated “humiliation of India by US President Donald Trump”, India’s “silence” on crucial international issues, including Palestine, Iran, Venezuela and Greenland.
The DMK, TMC and the CPM also demanded a discussion on Centre-state relations, alleging that the office of governor was “being misused to disrupt the functioning of state governments, and central agencies are being misused”.
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Briefing the press after the meeting, Rijiju said the VB-G RAM G Act has to be “followed” now. “Once a law is before the nation, we have to follow it. We cannot reverse the gear and go back,” said Rijiju.
He added that Opposition MPs present at the meeting put forward several issues, and these can be raised during the debate on the President’s Address.
“This is the first session of the year. Normally, the list of government business is shared after the President’s Address. However, I am ready to share the list; I have told officers to do it,” Rijiju said.
On the demand for a discussion on SIR in West Bengal, Rijiju said, “Both Houses had extensive discussions on electoral reforms in last session, where this issue was also raised by Opposition. This is uncalled for if another debate is demanded.”
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