The monsoon session of Parliament, commencing on July 21, promises to be a fiery affair. A determined opposition, led by an unusually aggressive Congress, has made it clear that it will disrupt proceedings to press their demand for the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will personally find himself in the firing line for having maintained a studied silence on the controversies involving the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s senior leaders.
Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad set the tone for the three-week session on Sunday when he declared that the Congress will take the National Democratic Alliance government to task over the help extended by Swaraj and Raje to Lalit Modi and the mystery deaths of Vyapam scam accused and witnesses in Madhya Pradesh. He also stated categorically that their party will not stop badgering the government until Modi breaks his silence on these issues.
Well aware that a rampaging opposition is raring to corner the ruling alliance, its senior ministers and BJP president Amit Shah have held a series of meetings to draw up a strategy to counter this attack and push through its legislative agenda. Raje, who is being targeted by the opposition for her links with Lalit Modi, was summoned to Delhi on Sunday for a special audience with Shah.
Business as usual
The prime minister betrayed his nervousness over the coming session when he took the unusual step of inviting the BJP’s allies in the NDA government for a session-eve meeting on Monday. This is the first time that Modi has found it necessary to consult with NDA partners who have privately complained that the BJP does not take them into confidence on key policies. Among other issues, they point to the manner in which the government amended the controversial land acquisition bill and pushed for its passage despite their reservations about it.
Having ignored them all this time, it has become critical for the BJP to reach out to its partners now as it needs their cooperation in insulating the prime minister from the opposition onslaught in Parliament. More importantly, the ruling party has to keep the NDA house in order as this session is being held a few months before the crucial Bihar assembly election. The prime minister can ill-afford to alienate Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party and Upendra Khushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, two important allies from Bihar, at this critical juncture.
Although the ruling alliance privately maintains that the monsoon session could be a wash-out, it has drawn up an exhaustive list of business. It has lined up 11 new bills for introduction and plans to push for the passage of nine bills pending in the Rajya Sabha. The contentious land acquisition bill, currently being scrutinised by a joint committee of Parliament, will not be pursued by the government in this session with an eye on the Bihar polls as it would provide additional ammunition to the opposition to slam the ruling alliance and project it as being “pro-corporate and anti-farmer”. The parliamentary committee is set to get further extension while the ruling alliance is getting ready to re-promulgate the land acquisition ordinance for a record fourth time.
The government is, however, keen on the passage of the goods and services tax bill, also being examined by a parliamentary panel. The committee is slated to submit its report soon after the session opens but the ruling alliance has hit a roadblock because the Congress has raised objections to the legislation in its present form. It has said it will endorse the bill only if all its proposed five amendments are accepted. The government is not inclined to do so.
Divide and rule
The Modi government will find it difficult to pass the GST bill if the Congress remains adamant since this is a constitutional amendment bill requiring the support of two-thirds of members in each House. The bill will sail through in the Lok Sabha, where the ruling alliance has a majority, but it will run into trouble in the Rajya Sabha where the government is outnumbered by the opposition.
If the monsoon session is the first major test for Modi, it also poses a challenge for the Congress, which is leading the opposition charge against the ruling alliance. The grand old party has to make sure that the government does not succeed in dividing the opposition as the NDA’s floor managers are working overtime to isolate the Congress.
Besides the Bihar elections and the reservations of its own allies, the government decided to take the land acquisition bill off the table this session as this is one issue on which there is total unanimity among the opposition irrespective of their state-level rivalries.
The same cannot be said about the GST bill. While the Congress has recorded its objections to the legislation, several opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress and the Janata Dal (United) have been convinced by the government that the new tax regime will benefit the states. The Congress may be able to stall the bill in the Upper House because of its numerical strength but any division in the opposition ranks will prove to be a psychological boost for the NDA government.
Similarly, the opposition is not united on the demand for Sushma Swaraj’s resignation. The external affairs minister has several sympathisers in the opposition ranks, including the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress. However, they are ready to go along with the Congress in its attack on Raje and Chouhan. Similarly, they are together in their demand for making the caste census data public. And they are all too willing to join the chorus against Modi unless the prime minister pre-empts them by making a statement at the beginning of the session.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will personally find himself in the firing line for having maintained a studied silence on the controversies involving the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s senior leaders.
Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad set the tone for the three-week session on Sunday when he declared that the Congress will take the National Democratic Alliance government to task over the help extended by Swaraj and Raje to Lalit Modi and the mystery deaths of Vyapam scam accused and witnesses in Madhya Pradesh. He also stated categorically that their party will not stop badgering the government until Modi breaks his silence on these issues.
Well aware that a rampaging opposition is raring to corner the ruling alliance, its senior ministers and BJP president Amit Shah have held a series of meetings to draw up a strategy to counter this attack and push through its legislative agenda. Raje, who is being targeted by the opposition for her links with Lalit Modi, was summoned to Delhi on Sunday for a special audience with Shah.
Business as usual
The prime minister betrayed his nervousness over the coming session when he took the unusual step of inviting the BJP’s allies in the NDA government for a session-eve meeting on Monday. This is the first time that Modi has found it necessary to consult with NDA partners who have privately complained that the BJP does not take them into confidence on key policies. Among other issues, they point to the manner in which the government amended the controversial land acquisition bill and pushed for its passage despite their reservations about it.
Having ignored them all this time, it has become critical for the BJP to reach out to its partners now as it needs their cooperation in insulating the prime minister from the opposition onslaught in Parliament. More importantly, the ruling party has to keep the NDA house in order as this session is being held a few months before the crucial Bihar assembly election. The prime minister can ill-afford to alienate Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party and Upendra Khushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, two important allies from Bihar, at this critical juncture.
Although the ruling alliance privately maintains that the monsoon session could be a wash-out, it has drawn up an exhaustive list of business. It has lined up 11 new bills for introduction and plans to push for the passage of nine bills pending in the Rajya Sabha. The contentious land acquisition bill, currently being scrutinised by a joint committee of Parliament, will not be pursued by the government in this session with an eye on the Bihar polls as it would provide additional ammunition to the opposition to slam the ruling alliance and project it as being “pro-corporate and anti-farmer”. The parliamentary committee is set to get further extension while the ruling alliance is getting ready to re-promulgate the land acquisition ordinance for a record fourth time.
The government is, however, keen on the passage of the goods and services tax bill, also being examined by a parliamentary panel. The committee is slated to submit its report soon after the session opens but the ruling alliance has hit a roadblock because the Congress has raised objections to the legislation in its present form. It has said it will endorse the bill only if all its proposed five amendments are accepted. The government is not inclined to do so.
Divide and rule
The Modi government will find it difficult to pass the GST bill if the Congress remains adamant since this is a constitutional amendment bill requiring the support of two-thirds of members in each House. The bill will sail through in the Lok Sabha, where the ruling alliance has a majority, but it will run into trouble in the Rajya Sabha where the government is outnumbered by the opposition.
If the monsoon session is the first major test for Modi, it also poses a challenge for the Congress, which is leading the opposition charge against the ruling alliance. The grand old party has to make sure that the government does not succeed in dividing the opposition as the NDA’s floor managers are working overtime to isolate the Congress.
Besides the Bihar elections and the reservations of its own allies, the government decided to take the land acquisition bill off the table this session as this is one issue on which there is total unanimity among the opposition irrespective of their state-level rivalries.
The same cannot be said about the GST bill. While the Congress has recorded its objections to the legislation, several opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress and the Janata Dal (United) have been convinced by the government that the new tax regime will benefit the states. The Congress may be able to stall the bill in the Upper House because of its numerical strength but any division in the opposition ranks will prove to be a psychological boost for the NDA government.
Similarly, the opposition is not united on the demand for Sushma Swaraj’s resignation. The external affairs minister has several sympathisers in the opposition ranks, including the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress. However, they are ready to go along with the Congress in its attack on Raje and Chouhan. Similarly, they are together in their demand for making the caste census data public. And they are all too willing to join the chorus against Modi unless the prime minister pre-empts them by making a statement at the beginning of the session.
