In what will be the last budget session before next year’s Lok Sabha elections, the UPA government will go all out to send signals through the three-month sitting that it stood for pro-people policies.

However, with elections to several states lined up, the Opposition BJP will seek to mount attack on the Congress-led government seeking to draw maximum advantage out of it. Thus, a stormy budget session can be expected.
The BJP has already upped its ante with recent poll victories and would put up a show on the floor against issues such as price rise, farmers’ suicides, internal security, increase in terror attacks etc.

The BJP has been harping on internal security and rising terror incidents, and a war of words is currently on between it and the Congress on who better tackled the menace.

The session will take off with an address by President Pratibha Patil to the joint session of Parliament, her first, on Monday. This will be followed by railway budget on Tuesday, the economic survey on Thursday and general budget on Friday. Finance Minister P Chidambaram will also table the Karnataka budget in Parliament during the session as the state is under President’s rule.

Left’s stand

The stand taken by the Left parties will be keenly watched as it may like to distance itself from the UPA in view of the next year’s elections. The UPA is already facing the Left ire for its decision to raise the prices of petrol besides a range of other issues.

The BJP informed a customary session-eve luncheon meeting with leaders of various political parties convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Sunday that it would raise price rise and agrarian problems as major issues to be raised during the Budget Session.

Chatterjee told reporters after the meeting that “subject to rules and time, there should be no difficulty in having discussions on these and other new issues that may come up”. Asked if discussions would take place under Rule 184 which entails voting, the Speaker said “I cannot anticipate. Let the members give notice. If members want to raise some issues, I do not want to stand in their way.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha L K Advani were present at the meeting which was attended by Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi, Ajit Singh (RLD), Ramchandra Paswan (LJP), S S Dhindsa (Akali Dal) and Raghunath Jha (RJD).

Business as usual

Dasmunsi, addressing reporters, said Parliament would adjourn for recess on March 20 and reassemble on April 15. The 35-sitting session will end on May 9. The two Houses will take up 55 Bills for approval including six ordinances.

The session will see introduction of five new Bills including the Supreme Court [number of judges] amendment Bill, the Constitution [scheduled tribes] Order [Amendment] Bill, the Central Universities Laws [amendment] Bill etc.