With a heavy agenda, that includes the politically-significant ordinance on the Food Security Bill, lined up for the coming Monsoon Session of Parliament which begins on Monday, the indications are that unlike in the recent past the short sitting will be more businesslike and smooth.
The decision on a separate Telangana could, however, cast a shadow on the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the first few days, with members from Andhra Pradesh who are agitated over the move likely to create an uproar.
Several members from the Seemandhra region belonging to both the Congress and the TDP have tendered their resignations in protest, but these have not been accepted yet and the Congress leadership is trying to persuade its MPs and ministers not to take any extreme action.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already sought the Opposition’s cooperation to ensure smooth passage of the legislative business, including the “most important” Food Security Bill.
The Opposition, particularly the BJP-led NDA, has indicated it will not resort to disruptions, but made it clear that its constituents will raise issues like Telangana statehood, Food Security Bill, fall in the rupee’s value and the Uttarakhand floods during the session.
At a strategy session chaired by senior party leader L.K. Advani on Sunday, the NDA decided to seek amendments in the Food Bill saying that several concerns had to be addressed before its passage, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here. “In principle, we are in agreement with this (food) bill, but we have a lot to say. There is a Chhattisgarh model, then there is the interest of farmers...We have to put in a lot of suggestions, amendments,” he added.
The Samajwadi Party, a key outside supporter of the UPA government, reiterated its position on the food bill, saying it was against the interest of farmers. “We oppose the proposed Food Security Bill in its present form. In a democratic setup, everyone has the right to have a view,” said SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
While parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath has said the government has received “emphatic assurances” from all political parties about the session being businesslike and smooth, the SP leadership struck a discordant note, saying the session would not run smoothly and be a stormy affair. The recent spat between the SP and the Congress over the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal may also have a bearing on the working relationship between the two on the floor of the two Houses. But since the JD(U), with 20 MPs, is now out of the NDA fold, it may prove to be a buffer for the Congress, as the two parties have since warmed up their relations. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, a top JD(U) leader, recently came out in open support of the food ordinance.
Amid turbulence in the Gorkha region of West Bengal after the Telangana decision, the Trinamul Congress had wanted a statement by home minister Sushilkumar Shinde that now no new state will be carved out, warning that otherwise “India will burn”.
The NDA parties held a two-hour-long meeting and its leaders discussed Telangana, especially the unrest in the Andhra region. “The Congress has mishandled the issue, it has done it for political considerations as elections are near,” Mr Prasad said, adding that the Opposition parties, however, will “make an honest effort to fully cooperate in the smooth functioning of Parliament”.