Stage set for stormy week as Parliament to take up Delhi services Bill

The Lok Sabha has passed five bills after brief discussions as opposition members raised slogans demanding the prime minister's statement on Manipur.

The ruling BJP and Opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc are heading for a tumultuous week in the Parliament as a Bill to replace a contentious ordinance and no-confidence motion against the Modi government are expected to be taken up.

The I.N.D.I.A parties are expected to heighten their decibel levels on the ethnic violence in Manipur, especially after a delegation of 21 MPs visited the trouble-hit north-eastern state in the week-end.

A meeting of I.N.D.I.A floor leaders is scheduled for Monday 9:30 am, where the floor strategy for the day and week will be discussed while the delegation will share their assessment of ground realities in Manipur.

The Opposition has been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Manipur followed by an immediate discussion, but the government has so far not agreed to it despite a pledge for a reply by Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Opposition will also demand the immediate taking up of the no-confidence motion against the Modi government, a notice for which approval was given last Wednesday. The government has passed at least six Bills since then, even as the Opposition argued that once a no-trust notice is accepted, no substantive business should be taken up till the motion is dealt with.

While the Opposition will insist for an immediate debate on Manipur, they will pause their protest if the government brings the Bill to replace an ordinance that has taken away the Delhi government's control over its bureaucrats.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was circulated among MPs on Saturday and will be tabled in Lok Sabha first.

The List of Business for Monday does not show this Bill being taken up, though the government can bring it up in a revised List of Business or as Supplementary Business on Monday.

While the numbers are against the Opposition in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, I.N.D.I.A partners will insist on a vote, especially in the Rajya Sabha where they are better placed. Opposition sources said if they could show their numbers beyond 100 in voting, it would have some impact in the Supreme Court when the appeal comes up there.

As it stands, the Opposition can get only 103 votes against 121 the government can garner, including the nine votes of YSR Congress. BJD, BSP and JD(S) are yet to announce their positions on the Bill.