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| BJP to put UPA Govt in the dock | | Parliament session will see disruptions from day one | |
NEW DELHI, NOV 19
Come Wednesday, Novemver 22, the Congress-led coalition government at he Centre will sdtart seeing the Opposition parties in a highly aggressive mood in the two Houses of Parliament. The winter session of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha starting November 22 will witness disruptions from day one on a variety of issues.
They inter alia include Mohammed Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri militant ordered to hang, seats for women in legislatures, quotas for the underprivileged in educational institutions and free market reforms. Serious differences among political parties over pending legislations could make the proceedings unwieldy, and a worried Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee, is holding frantic meetings with top political leaders to find out how best to run the 545-seat House.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to put the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the dock over the sealing and demolitions of illegal shops in the national capital, the Left has vowed to pursue its diehard opposition to unbridled free-market economic policies.The almost month-long session-- scheduled to end Dec 19-- is significant as it is expected to take up many important bills. These include a long pending one seeking to reserve 33 percent of seats in Parliament and State Assemblies for women and to ensure 49.5 per cent seats in higher educational institutions--27 percent for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 15 percent for Scheduled Castes and 7.5 for Scheduled Tribes.
The Supreme Court's directive to exempt the 'creamy layer' from among the Dalits and tribals from the reservation privileges has irked many political parties including Left and some allies of the UPA. The bill for 27 percent OBC reservation that was introduced in Parliament is pending with the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Human Resource Development Ministry. It would submit its report in the winter session of Parliament.
BJP leaders said that they would stall the proceedings on the first day itself. Santosh Gangwar, BJP MP, said: "We are planning to stall the House demanding immediate execution of Afzal Guru, the man sentenced to death for the 2001 attack on Parliament. Afzal has appealed for clemency to President APJ Abdul Kalam. Gangwar added: "Then we have a series of issues to put the government on mat like price rise, farmer suicides, sealing and demolitions in Delhi".
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and its three Left allies that support the UPA government have warned of protests against the economic policies in this session too.
Pointing out that the government decision to open 100 franchise postal outlets throughout India amounted to 'privatisation', CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said: "The move is absolutely contrary to the Common Minimum Programme (CMP, the agenda of governance for the coalition). We have asked our MPs to take up the issue in Parliament". The government may have to face another hurdle: lack of consensus over the controversial women's bill. Even many UPA allies like the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party have reservations on the legislation. |
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