The Winter session of Parliament is expected to be held from November 26 to December 23 against the backdrop of the bitter campaigning for the ongoing Bihar Assembly elections.
Though the Narendra Modi government would like to push forward economic reform initiatives such as the Goods and Services Tax Bill and the Real Estate Regulator Bill, the Opposition is raring to take on the Centre on rising incidents of intolerance.
“The prime minister is in a confrontationist mode and does not believe in dialogue with the Opposition. This is a great disservice to parliamentary democracy,” said Anand Sharma, deputy Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha.
The Congress had stalled the entire Monsoon session over demands for resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for allegedly helping disgraced former IPL boss Lalit Modi.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu anticipated trouble but hoped the Opposition will allow Parliament to function. “Last time they stalled the session. This time, they may take this (intolerance) as an alibi,” said Naidu.
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