Budget session to begin with Congress resurgent, BJP quiet

High on confidence, the new Congress-led government is ready for the month-long budget session of parliament beginning Thursday with the Manmohan Singh regime planning to push through crucial legislative initiatives to make its 100-day vision come true.

The tone was set by the prime minister himself after the May 16 Congress victory when he told his ministers to start implementing the party's poll promises with a 100-day target.

The last month has seen minister after minister announcing plans with many of them expecting to push through crucial policy legislation and initiatives during the budget session.

The railway budget will be presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee July 3 and the fiscal budget by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on July 6.

The parliament session begins Thursday with the presentation of the Economic Survey. After the survey and the railway and union budgets are presented, there would be a discussion on the demands for grants for select ministries.

The session will go on till Aug 7.

The Congress said it had the numbers and was confident of pushing through the "aam aadmi" agenda it raised in the run up to the elections.

"The Congress is fully prepared for the upcoming session of parliament. We are fully prepared and committed to the agenda that it has set before itself for 100 days. The Congress is much more confident this time as it has better figures in parliament," party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad told IANS.

The submission of the Liberhan Commission report on the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid by Hindu zealots is likely to create political ripples.

The BJP, on the defensive with its senior leaders facing allegations of having led the mobs that destroyed the 16th century monument, has already questioned the timing of the release of the report so soon after the April-May elections, while the Left and other parties are demanding that its contents be made public.

"The timing is questionable. Anyway, we will discuss how to deal with the issue when it comes up in the parliament; let us see. But I wonder that they want to rake up the past like this," BJP vice-president and spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told IANS.

The party is preparing its own battle-plan.

"We (partners in the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP) will meet before the session and discuss our strategy. There are a lot of flaws in some ministries' 100-day plan. We will raise all the major issues in parliament that directly affect the people," Naqvi said.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which suffered a drubbing in the polls, said it would continue to oppose the "anti-people policies" of the government in parliament.

Said CPI-M leader in Lok Sabha Basudeb Acharia: "The racist attack against Indians in Australia is a big issue. The Left will raise the matter."

He said increasing Maoist activities in the country and high prices of essential commodities were also important issues that the party would raise in the house.

On matters of legislation, the government hopes to get passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill and one to make the judges declare their assets.

The minority affairs ministry expects to move ahead with its plan to set up an equal opportunities commission and may introduce a bill relating to it.

Then there is the contentious Women's Reservation Bill, which faced intense resistance from several regional parties during the first session of the new Lok Sabha.

The Land Acquisition Bill and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, which had lapsed due to the dissolution of the previous Lok Sabha, are likely to be re-introduced in the house. The bills related to reforms in the insurance sector are also likely to come up.

Last updated on Jul 1^st, 2009 at 15:31 pm IST--IANS