Congress to raise inflation, Maha Kumbh stampede, Ambedkar 'insult' during Budget Session

New Delhi: As Parliament's Budget Session got underway, the Congress on Friday said it will raise issues such as inflation, unemployment, the Maha Kumbh stampede and the alleged insult to B R Ambedkar.

It also asserted that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is united in raising these issues in Parliament.

The opposition party made the assertion after its strategic group held a meeting at Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence here.

The meeting was attended by Congress general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal and deputy leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, among others.

"The entire I.N.D.I.A. alliance is united. Tomorrow, we will raise issues like inflation, unemployment, the stampede at Kumbh Mela, and the insult to Dr Ambedkar by the Home Minister," Tiwari said after the meeting.

Parliament's Budget Session, which began on Friday with President Droupadi Murmu's address to both Houses, is likely to be stormy with opposition parties demanding a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj where 30 pilgrims were killed in a stampede.

At the all-party meeting on Thursday, the opposition had accused the BJP-led government of politicisation of the Kumbh congregation and prevalence of VIP culture at the cost of the common man.

The opposition parties also alleged that the government is steam-rolling its agenda in parliamentary panels and having disregard for the parliamentary procedure of finalising House business at the meetings of the Business Advisory Committee.

The all-party meeting was attended by Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, K Suresh, Gaurav Gogoi and Pramod Tewari, Trinamool Congress leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O'Brien, RSP leader N K Premachandran, BJD leader Sasmit Patra, DMK leader T R Baalu, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, JMM leader Mahua Maji, and NCP-SP leader Fouzia Khan, among others.

The 16 Bills listed for the Budget Session include the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, The Railways (Amendment) Bill, The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, The Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects Bill, and The Immigration and Foreigners Bill.