Stormy session

|
  • 0

Stormy session

Monday, 18 November 2019 | Pioneer

Stormy session

Contentious issues will dominate the Parliament but one hopes that key Bills don’t get lost in the din

Coming close on the heels of a set of landmark judgments by the Supreme Court as well as the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, the Winter Session of Parliament, which begins today, has set the stage for a fiery showdown between the Opposition and the ruling dispensation. Armed with favourable judgments on the Ram Janmabhoomi case and the Rafale deal, an upbeat BJP is expected to take on the Opposition, particularly the Congress, head on. The Opposition, too, is expected to take on the Government on important issues pertaining to the economy and the state of affairs in Jammu & Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370. Emotions are expected to be roiled, however, over the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which remained stuck in the Rajya Sabha in the last session. Opposition to the Bill stems from the fact that it reinforces ethnic and communal faultlines due to its overt and covert support to selective migrants escaping persecution in the neighbourhood. While it proposes to grant Indian citizenship to fleeing Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Christians and Parsis, who are residents of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, it excludes persecuted Muslim sects, the Shias and Ahmadiyyas. This is the bone of contention for heated debates. Besides, massive protests have already taken place in the Northeast, especially in Assam, where ethnic groups have raised concerns about the inundation by settlers, including the burden of “illegal migrants” being passed on to their State alone and it being contradictory to the spirit of the Assam Accord and the National Register of Citizens. The proposed amendment nullifies both the pacts. No wonder, the session promises to be stormy. If indeed the Government is serious about protecting the cultural, linguistic and other rights of locals, it should be open to debate, assess legitimate concerns and get the Bill passed with consent.

Since this will be the first time that the House will commence after the abrogation of Article 370 and a virtual lockdown of the Valley, a heated confrontation between the Congress and the BJP is expected. Considering this session is relatively short, legislators should not waste crucial time by taking recourse to repeated interruptions and instead, transact business. Key Bills need to be passed and at least all parties could agree on formulating a national legislation  on pollution given the severity of the climate crisis.

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda