By IANS,
New Delhi : The opposition is expected to corner the government on a range of issues, including the riots in Assam, power outages and low-intensity blasts in Pune during the monsoon session of parliament beginning Wednesday as the ruling UPA will seek to push pending anti-corruption bills and other legislative agenda.
The session will start a day after the expected victory of United Progressive Alliance candidate and incumbent Hamid Ansari in the vice-presidential elections. With the services of once key trouble shooter Pranab Mukherjee no longer available to the government due to his elevation as the country’s president, the session will be a test for parliamentary skills of the new Leader of House in the Lok Sabha Sushilkumar Shinde.
The issues expected to be raised by the opposition parties include the riots in Assam that have claimed over 50 lives, massive power outages across the country, the fire in the Tamil Nadu Express, deaths of Amarnath pilgrims, female feticide, train accidents, violence at Maruti-Suzuki factory in Manesar and the Lokpal bill.
Sunday’s attack on a gurdwara in a Milwaukee suburb in the US, that left six people dead, is also expected to be raised by the opposition.
Sources said the government has listed 31 bills for passage during the month-long session. They include the women’s reservation bill, the educational tribunal bill, the whistleblowers protection bill and the prevention of bribery of foreign public officials bill.
The contentious bills on financial sector reforms, including the insurance and pension bills do not figure in the agenda, the sources said.
The BJP has signaled its intention to forcefully raise the issues of violence in Assam, power outages and provision of bare minimum facilities for the Amarnath pilgrims.
With assembly elections due in party-ruled Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh by the end of year, the BJP is expected to make concerted efforts to highlight the failures of the government.
“The government gave us the largest powerless hours in the country. It is now symbolic of dark ages in every sense of the word,” party spokesperson Tarun Vijay told IANS. ”
On successive days last week, some 300 milion people went without power after the northern grid failed and then 600 million went poweless after the northern, eastern and northeastern grids collapsed.
“We will raise in both houses the issue of massacre and devastation of Bodo Hindus by Bangladeshi infiltrators,” Vijay added.
He said government’s attitude on Lokpal bill as “deceptive” and accused it of not properly following up 2G spectrum scam and other corruption cases.
Referring to P. Chidambaram, he said “a key person” in the events relating to 2G spectrum controversy had been given the finance portfolio.
Vijay said there was broad opposition unity on issues such as price rise and power outages.
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Basudeb Acharia said his party intended to raise a number of issues and will decide its strategy at a meeting Tuesday.
“The issues include drought, price rise, power failure for two days across several states and violence in Kokrajhar,” Acharia said.
Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal said his party will raise the issues of Assam violence, rising prices and drought.
“Our support to the government is issue-based. We will raise issues concerning the common man,” Agrawal told IANS.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affaris Rajiv Shukla said that the government was ready to discuss all issues.
“Whatever issues the opposition has suggested, we are prepared to discuss,” Shukla told IANS.
Answering queries, Shukla said he did not foresee the session to be “tough” for the government.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had said earlier that the government was keen to pass the Lokpal bill but it can be taken up in the monsoon session only if the Rajya Sabha’s select committee gives its report by the middle of the session. The Lokpal bill is being looked into by the select committee of the upper house.
The month-long monsoon session of parliament beginning Wednesday has 31 new bills listed on the agenda for passage.
There are another 118 bills that are pending at different stages in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Some of the key bills, both pending and on the agenda of the monsoon session:
* Lokpal Bill, 2011: Not listed for consideration in this session.
* Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill: Unlikely to come up in this session.
* Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill: Not listed on agenda.
* Companies Bill: Seeks to replace and modernise the half-a-century-old act; listed for passage.
* Forward Contract Regulation Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill: Set for passage during the session.
* Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill: Likely to be considered for passage.
* Whistleblowers Protection Bill: Passed by the Lok Sabha in the winter session last year; set to be considered by the Rajya Sabha for passage.
* Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill: Likely to be rechristened the Right to Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill and taken up for passage in the monsoon session.
* Women’s Reservation Bill: Passed by Rajya Sabha in 2010: likely to be taken up for passage in the Lok Sabha in this session.
* Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill: Set to be taken up for consideration and passage.