Buoyant BJP, diminished Congress to face Parliament as Budget Session resumes on March 14

Aam Aadmi Party, with its resounding victory in Punjab, will also be in the limelight

A buoyant BJP will be walking in with extra confidence into Parliament on Monday as the second leg of the Budget Session begins while a diminished Congress will be looking to re-assert its position in the Opposition following dismal performance in the just-concluded Assembly elections to five states.

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with its resounding victory in Punjab, will also take some limelight from BJP, which retained power in the politically important Uttar Pradesh and three other states.

The Session, which is scheduled to end on April 8 after passing the Budget and other financial business among others, will be keenly watched for whether the other Opposition parties will recalibrate their floor strategy following the Congress’ debacle in four states, including Punjab. Congress has been calling meetings for finalising joint floor strategy so far.

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With the new election results, Congress is at the cusp of losing its position as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha by early next year if it does not manage to send more MPs to the House. While AAP is likely to increase its number to at least nine by July, Akali Dal will have no representation in Rajya Sabha by July and BSP will have only one MP, with the retirement of their members.

The session is likely to see the Centre bringing a new bill for the unification of three municipal corporations in the national capital and it could set the stage for confrontation, as AAP and other parties are likely to oppose any delay in the conduct of elections to the civic bodies in April. Other than the bill on municipal corporations, the government has not listed any major bills for the session.

The Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group met at party chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence on Sunday morning to chalk out the floor strategy and decided to coordinate with other Opposition parties.

After the meeting attended by Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh, Manish Tewari, K C Venugopal, Kodikkunnil Suresh and Manickam Tagore among others, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the party will take up issues of inflation, unemployment, Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers and issues concerning medical students returning from Ukraine.

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On Monday, the Budget for Jammu and Kashmir will be discussed in Lok Sabha while the working of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region will be held in Rajya Sabha. Reports of Parliamentary Standing Committees on Demands of Grants will be tabled during the session.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is also likely to brief the Parliament on India’s stand on the Ukraine-Russia war and the evacuation of Indians from the war zone. With Covid-19 cases easing, the second leg of the Session will see Parliament returning to normal functioning with the Houses conducting proceedings simultaneously. Parliament had adopted the shift system during the first phase of the Budget Session owing to the third wave of Covid-19, with the upper house conducting proceedings during the morning hours and lower house during evening hours.

The 2020 Budget Session was the first to be curtailed by 8 sittings due to the outbreak of Covid-19. The 2020 Monsoon Session was the first session held under Covid-19 protocol with Rajya sabha meeting in the first half of the day and Lok Sabha during the second half.

This was followed for the first part of the Budget Session 2021 while Parliament returned to normal sitting hours from the second leg of the Budget Session last year. In January this year ahead of the first leg of the Budget Session, a large number of Parliament House officials had tested positive.

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