New Delhi: Top Congress leaders met on Thursday to discuss the party’s strategy during the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning July 20. Senior Congress leaders, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders, deliberated on key issues to be taken up during the session. The meeting was held at the 10 Janpath residence of Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Congres says efforts will be made to maintain opposition unity on Delimitation Bill
During the meeting, the Congress announced to oppose Delimitation Bill and added that efforts will be made to maintain opposition unity on this issue. The Congress will also oppose the proposed bill regarding the synchronisation of tenures for MPs, MLAs, Chief Ministers, and the Prime Minister.
The Congress has also decided to strongly oppose the proposed amendments to the National Food Security Act, 2013. The Pradhan Mantri Anna Yojana was formulated based on this Act, and the party will oppose any changes to it, the Congress said. The Congress also said that it is not in a position to support any of the bills likely to be introduced.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary, said the Congress held a strategy meeting regarding the Monsoon Session. The party intends to oppose several proposed bills. The meeting lasted for approximately one and a half hours. The government has not yet formally announced which bills will be introduced during the Monsoon Session; therefore, the discussion focused on potential bills.
Jairam Ramesh said, “We have come to know that the delimitation bill will be brought in; this is what we are hearing. The Congress party will stand against it. We will stand in unity with other like-minded parties.”
He said, “We don’t have official confirmation on what all bills will be brought in this time. Hopefully we will get to know on Sunday at the all-party meeting, but it’s a mere formality on the part of the government.”
Congress will also oppose One Nation, One Election
He said ‘One Nation, One Election’ was also discussed, and the FCRA Bill will be opposed. “None of the bill looks to be supported by us,” he said.
Jairam Ramesh said, “We have learnt that the Union Home Minister is making efforts to bring back the Delimitation Bill (during the Monsoon Session of Parliament). The government failed to secure a two-thirds majority on 17th April and suffered a significant setback on the legislation. It now wants to reintroduce the bill. The proposed Constitution Amendment Bill on the removal of judges, for which a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has been constituted and which the Opposition parties have boycotted, was also discussed during (Congress) meeting today. The Congress party has consistently maintained that it will strongly oppose the Delimitation Bill and will continue to do so. We will also make every effort to maintain the unity and solidarity of all Opposition parties. Similarly, we will firmly oppose the proposed Constitution Amendment Bill related to the removal of judges.”
“There was also some discussion on the One Nation, One Election proposal. A JPC has been constituted on the issue, and it has been given time until August 10 to submit its report. We will also oppose the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill in its entirety. It is possible that the bill may be introduced during this session. There is also a possibility that the FCRA Amendment Bill will be introduced. We will oppose it as well. We had opposed it earlier, following which the government withdrew the bill. However, we are now hearing that it may be brought back. Another important issue discussed was the proposed amendments to the National Food Security Act, 2013, which forms the basis of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. We are completely opposed to these proposed amendments, and if the bill is introduced during this session, we will strongly oppose it. As far as the legislative agenda is concerned, I do not see any bill before us that we can support,” Ramesh said.
How Opposition plans to target Centre during Monsoon Session
The government is likely to bring up crucial legislation, including the Constitution Amendment Bill on introducing delimitation and increase of Lok Sabha seats, besides one pertaining to the removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Union ministers on being jailed.
The Opposition is also gearing up to take on the government on crucial issues, including the NEET paper leak case and the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, besides raising issues of rising oil prices and the Indo-US trade deal. -(IndiaTV)
