New Delhi:
The Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning Monday will be a memorable session for the government despite the Opposition’s preparation to corner it.
On the first day of the session, the Presidential election will be held in which members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will vote to elect a new President. The BJP, which has played a masterstroke by fielding tribal woman Draupadi Murmu as its Presidential candidate, is eyeing to win by a huge margin.
During the Monsoon Session, the Vice-Presidential poll will be held on August 6. The BJP has fielded West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who hails from Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu, for the post. Seeing the numbers in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar is almost certain to win the election.
However, despite strong prospects of NDA winning both the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, the opposition is making all-out efforts to corner the government inside and outside the Parliament.
In the all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla ahead of the Monsoon Session, the opposition parties made their stance clear by demanding discussion on several issues, including the Agnipath scheme, among others.
The way the opposition has reacted to Lok Sabha Secretariat’s circular banning demonstrations inside the Parliament premises, it shows that it is ready to take on the government.
While Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, along with other opposition parties, wants to pressurise the government, his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee wants to lead the opposition parties as was seen in fielding Yashwant Sinha as the opposition’s presidential nominee.
And in between these two regional parties in Congress, which is facing a crisis to maintain its national relevance. The impact of mutual competition among these three parties is also set to be seen during the Monsoon Session.
With the Trinamool Congress, SP, BSP, TRS, NCP, National Conference, AIMIM, Shiv Sena, among others, skipping the all-party meet, chances that the session will be a fiery one has increased.
The opposition wants to corner the government by demanding discussion on the Agnipath scheme, inflation, falling value of rupee against dollar, farmers’ problems, MSP, unemployment, India-China border situation, Nupur Sharma case, among others.
The Monsoon Session will conclude on August 12.