Undercurrents of turbulence buildup before the Budget session starting from Tuesday are evident with the Opposition accusing the government of bringing up contentious issues bound to be reflected in both Houses.
The ongoing row of Jawaharlal Nehru University is one such issue with both ruling coalition and Opposition ready to debate without much ado. The battle lines are drawn with the government eager to discuss the “Freedom of Speech” within the constitutional provision and reasonable restrictions, while the Opposition feels people are being forced to control the narrative.
Adding to the list is the anti-reservation battle that surfaced post-Rohit Vemula suicide in Hyderabad, the situation over Jat reservation in Haryana and the Kapu reservation agitation in Andhra Pradesh that took a violent turn, besides the political developments in Arunachal Pradesh.
The customary pre-session meetings with parliamentary party leaders apart, attempts by the government to reach out to the Opposition through meetings convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari may have generated some hope but the JNU controversy stirred the political cauldron.
“Parliament is the forum for expression of collective wisdom of the country and showing the way forward in the larger interest of the nation,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said at the leaders’ meeting.
At the meeting, a number of Opposition as also BJP leaders sought an early debate on the JNU with CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury speaking of a “chilling parallel” to the current situation in the country with the one that led to rise of Fascism in Germany.
“The government is setting the agenda for Parliament’s disruption even before its session has begun. We have seen this agenda of the BJP for the past three-four sessions. The government creates a situation in the country that is responsible for disruption,” he said.
In any case, the Opposition leaders have made it clear that no Bills, including the Goods and Services Tax, on which there is no consensus should be brought up during the first half the session, which is scheduled to go on till May 13 with recess between March-April.
The ongoing row of Jawaharlal Nehru University is one such issue with both ruling coalition and Opposition ready to debate without much ado. The battle lines are drawn with the government eager to discuss the “Freedom of Speech” within the constitutional provision and reasonable restrictions, while the Opposition feels people are being forced to control the narrative.
Adding to the list is the anti-reservation battle that surfaced post-Rohit Vemula suicide in Hyderabad, the situation over Jat reservation in Haryana and the Kapu reservation agitation in Andhra Pradesh that took a violent turn, besides the political developments in Arunachal Pradesh.
The customary pre-session meetings with parliamentary party leaders apart, attempts by the government to reach out to the Opposition through meetings convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari may have generated some hope but the JNU controversy stirred the political cauldron.
“Parliament is the forum for expression of collective wisdom of the country and showing the way forward in the larger interest of the nation,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said at the leaders’ meeting.
At the meeting, a number of Opposition as also BJP leaders sought an early debate on the JNU with CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury speaking of a “chilling parallel” to the current situation in the country with the one that led to rise of Fascism in Germany.
“The government is setting the agenda for Parliament’s disruption even before its session has begun. We have seen this agenda of the BJP for the past three-four sessions. The government creates a situation in the country that is responsible for disruption,” he said.
In any case, the Opposition leaders have made it clear that no Bills, including the Goods and Services Tax, on which there is no consensus should be brought up during the first half the session, which is scheduled to go on till May 13 with recess between March-April.
