Can Amit Shah speaking on student protests revive Parliament monsoon session? Here's what lies ahead

With Home Minister Amit Shah offering to speak in the Lok Sabha on the student protests at Jantar Mantar, hopes have been rekindled that the remaining part of the monsoon session may witness normal functioning as the government hopes to bring some key bills.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Home Minister Amit Shah will reply to the debate on the students’ agitation, but the Opposition will have to listen and not disrupt the house.

Once the House starts functioning normally, there are chances that it could pave the way for other bills, though there is still no clarity on whether the delimitation and women’s reservation bills will be brought within the remaining four days of the monsoon session, or whether the session will be extended after Independence Day.

As part of the government’s outreach before those bills can be brought in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi first met Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal, last week. On Monday, Modi met NCP (Sharad Pawar) party MPs. After the meeting, the party’s working president, Supriya Sule, said that the discussion was about the state’s development projects and those related to party MPs' constituencies. Among the demands raised by the party, it asked for Bharat Ratnas for icons Jyotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule, Shahir Anna Bhau Sathe, and Saint Tukdoji Maharaj, who belong to the state.

The timing of the meeting has certainly started speculation that the government was reaching out to the Opposition, unlike last time, when the attempt ended with the Opposition defeating the bill.

Earlier, the Akali Dal, after meeting the Prime Minister, had held its own meeting and announced its support for the delimitation bill. The move has political overtones, as the Akali Dal is keen to have an alliance with the BJP ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls. But the BJP has announced that it will go alone. The Akali Dal has one MP in the Lok Sabha.

Sule had already made it clear that the party may support the bill when the government makes it clear and puts it in the text of the bill that there will be a 50 per cent uniform increase in the number of seats. She also said the Opposition will jointly discuss the bill and announce its stand.

The NCP (SP)’s meeting with the Prime Minister also comes at a time when there is a churn in state politics among various factions of parties.

As there is a lot of reading on the delimitation bill, there is opposition to the FCRA bill too from several parties, including the DMK, whose support is crucial for the delimitation bill. Various Christian bodies have opposed the proposed amendments in the bill.

“The Joint Action Forum members for FCRA have asked for the withdrawal of the FCRA Bill and repeal of Section 15 of the 2010 Act, or for it to be referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. The stand of our leader and the DMK party is synchronising with the demands of our Joint Action Forum and our minorities, and whatever the leader said in the beginning continues,” DMK MP Wilson said.

BJD MP Sasmit Patra also said that the government should not rush through the FCRA bill, as the Christian community has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee for the FCRA bill.

A lot will depend on how the Home Minister’s reply pans out in Parliament, which may then force the Opposition to stop their protests and let the House function, thus opening a window for further engagement on the delimitation bill.