The Budget session of Parliament, which will begin on Tuesday, may witness heated scenes as the Opposition parties are likely to raise a multitude of issues, including the row over the BBC documentary and the Adani-Hindenburg report.
President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, her maiden speech, marking the start of the session. The speech is likely to focus on government's achievements and policy priorities. It will then be followed by the tabling of the Economic Survey.
The Budget session will have 27 sittings, including the presentation of Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday. This is also the last full-fledged Union Budget of the Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The first part of the session will conclude on February 14 and the session will resume on March 12 for the second part and continue till April 6. The government plans to bring around 36 bills - including four related to the budgetary exercise - during the session.
All-party meeting
The BJP government had called an all-party meeting on Monday ahead of the budget session, attended by 37 leaders from 27 parties all over the country. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal attended the meeting.
Though the representative of the main opposition Congress party was absent, leaders from other parties like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Shiv Sena faction headed by Uddhav Thackeray, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Left attended the meeting.
The Adani-Hindenberg issue dominated the meeting with Shiv Sena (UBT) seeking a SEBI investigation into alleged stock manipulation by the Adani group and "overexposure" of LIC and SBI funds in shares of the group companies.
The BRS and DMK, governing Telangana and Tamil Nadu, respectively, also registered protest against the conduct of governors in their states. The Trinamool Congress insisted that the government give space to opposition parties in Parliament and the legislature should not be used merely for passing bills.
The ban on the controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 riots in Gujarat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also dominated the meeting. There was also a call seeking the passage of a bill ensuring quota for women in legislatures and a nationwide caste-based economic census. The latter was raised by Andhra Pradesh-based YSR Congress and was supported by TRS, TMC, JD (U), RJD and the BJD.
The BSP raised the border row between India and China and the military standoff in eastern Ladakh but the government sources cited security implications to rule out a discussion on these matters.
However, the Centre asserted it was willing to discuss every matter allowed by rules.