Session begins today: Opp. on prices warpath
The price rise issue has brought the BJP, Left and regional parties together, but not the Mandalites, on the eve of Parliament’s Monsoon Session beginning on Monday.
Senior UPA ministers Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee and A. Raja are also expected to be on the Opposition’s “hit list” in this session. Some Congress ministers, particularly S.M. Krishna and P. Chidambaram, are also likely to be the targets of Opposition attacks on issues ranging from the talks with Pakistan to Naxalism and internal security.
The government’s strategy to trying to isolate the BJP in Parliament following the Amit Shah issue in Gujarat might not succeed as the Opposition parties are likely to treat the price rise and Maoist attacks as more serious matters.
With both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha expected to be adjourned immediately after obituary references over the death of sitting members, the Opposition is likely to press for an adjournment motion on the price rise issue on Tuesday morning.
The government has already refused to roll back the increase in fuel prices, and in the last session the parties led by Lalu and Mulayam Yadav as well as Mayawati had helped the government defeat cut motions on this issue.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said after a meeting with all floor leaders on Sunday that all parties had promised to cooperate in the smooth running of the House. But with the government in no mood to accept the Opposition’s demands, a confrontation between the two sides is expected.
The Leader of the Opposition, Ms Sushma Swaraj, in a veiled warning, said on Sunday that there wouldn’t be any disturbances if the government heeded their demands. She claimed that UPA parties like the DMK and Trinamul Congress also wanted a discussion on the price rise issue.
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