Will Opposition take on NDA as I.N.D.I.A?

The monsoon session of Parliament, which begins on Thursday, will be a historic one as it would be the first session to be held in the new Parliament building, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28.

This session also assumes importance as it is going to be the first test of unity of the Opposition parties which met at Bengaluru on Wednesday and formed into an alliance called I.N.D.I.A. It may be mentioned here that a day after the announcement of the name of the alliance, differences have cropped up between the allies over the name. It is learnt that CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri and D Raja of the CPI were not convinced with the name. The Left parties called Mamata Banerjee as a dictator.

It is in the backdrop of this scenario, the alliance -- I.N.D.I.A -- would be put to test as the NDA government has given a list of 31 Bills to be placed before the House. The Congress wanted to take on the government on the Manipur issue and it demanded that the government give space for the Opposition.

Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdary said if Parliament must function smoothly, the government should agree for a discussion on Manipur. "Two months have passed but the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has not opened his mouth on it. I would like to request that he has been silent for over two months at least now he should make a statement in Parliament and allow us to discuss the issue," he said. The government reacted saying that they would discuss the Manipur issue. Now whether a debate on this would materialise or not remains to be seen. Another issue that could create a storm is the Delhi ordinance.

The new Bills include the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to replace the contentious Delhi Ordinance over the control of services in the national capital.

The purpose of the Bill has been described in the legislative business list as: “The conclusions drawn in Constitution Bench pronouncement poses certain challenges to the smooth administration of GNCTD which need to be addressed through appropriate legal interventions.” Meanwhile, the leaders of Opposition alliance INDIA will meet on Thursday morning to chalk out a joint strategy for the monsoon session. Sources said the meeting will be held in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.

"The meeting has been called to discuss the issues to be taken up in Parliament from day one of the session. The government has lined up Bills, which include a draft legislation to check film piracy, introduce age-based categories for censor certification and to set up the National Research Foundation. It has also listed Bills on personal data protection, the one to amend forest conservation laws, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill and the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, among others.