All party meet ahead of Budget session, Opposition demands discussion on Adani, caste-based economic census

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday said that the government was willing to discuss every issue under rules during the Budget Session of Parliament, and sought the Opposition’s support in running the proceedings smoothly.

Joshi was speaking to reporters after an all-party meeting that was convened by the government ahead of the Budget Session which begins on Tuesday. He said that 37 leaders from 27 parties participated in the all-party meeting today.

“Today’s meeting went well. I seek the cooperation of the opposition to run the House well. We are ready to discuss all issues,” Joshi said.

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At the meeting, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh, RJD’s Manoj Jha, DMK, Left parties and others raise the Adani-Hindenburg issue and sought a discussion on it in Parliament during the session.

On January 24 (January 25 in India), New York-based Hindenburg Research released a report titled, “Adani Group – How The World’s 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling The Largest Con In Corporate History” and accused the Adani Group of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”.

Meanwhile, the YSR Congress, joined the likes Janata Dal (United) and the RJD, and demanded a nationwide caste-based economic census during the meeting, which said that it is necessary to know the economic status of backward castes who are “lagging behind” on social and development indicators.

Speaking at the meet, YSR Congress leader Vijaysai Reddy said backward castes are over 50 per cent of the total population and the census will help find their economic status. He also demanded the passage of the women’s quota bill for ensuring reservations for them in Parliament, which also found the support of the Telangana’s ruling party Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, and the Biju Janata Dal.

The Budget Session will begin from January 31 with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and culminate on April 6. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on February 1.

The session will have 27 sittings, and the first part of the Budget Session will conclude on February 14. The Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session. It will also have a month-long recess to examine the budget papers.