The Budget session of Parliament begins on Tuesday with the maiden address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. After the President’s address, the Economic Survey will be tabled.
The government plans to bring around 36 bills during the session. On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the last full-fledged Budget before the Lok Sabha elections which is due in February 2024.
While the government’s priority will be to seek approval on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address and the Finance Bill, the Opposition is raring to corner the Narendra Modi-led BJP government on a range of issues, including the Adani-Hindenburg row, a nationwide caste-based economic census and the women’s reservation bill in the Parliament.
The Budget session will have 27 sittings and will continue till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The government plans to bring around 36 bills – including four related to the budgetary exercise – during the session. The first part of the session will conclude on February 14, and it will again reconvene on March 12 for the second part.
An all-party meeting was convened on Monday, where Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the government was willing to discuss every issue under the Rules. He said 27 parties attended the meeting, including 37 leaders. Defence minister Rajnath Singh was also present at the meeting.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh, RJD’s Manoj Jha, DMK, Left parties and others raised the Adani-Hindenburg issue and sought a discussion on it in Parliament during the session. While the YSR Congress demanded a nationwide caste-based economic census.
Reddy also demanded the passage of the women’s quota bill for ensuring reservation for them in Parliament, which was also supported by Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Trinamool Congress and the Biju Janata Dal also supported the demand.