Monsoon session Of Parliament Begins Tuesday ; Opposition Set To Take On Govt Over Lalit Modi Issue & Vyapam Scam
20 July, New Delhi
Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin tomorrow- Tuesday . The session is expected to be stormy.
The opposition is set to take on the government over the Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam. During the day, series of meetings were held to fine tune strategy and ensure smooth proceedings of both the Houses.
Addressing the Leaders of all parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed them to utilize Parliament time for discussing issues concerning people. He said the government is willing to take all positive suggestions from opposition parties. He said all party leaders should move forward on Land Acquisition bill.
Speaking after the meeting, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said, the Land Bill in its present form is not acceptable to his party. Yadav said, discussion should take place on the Vyapam Scam and Lalit Modi controversy but these two issue should not become a tool of disruption.Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party expressed apprehension of smooth functioning of Parliament in view of tough stand taken by the Opposition on Vyapam and Lalit Modi episodes.
On Land Acquisition Bill, Yadav said, if the government comes out with positive changes then there can be some good response.
Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress said, his party will raise the issue of Vyapam scam and Lalit Modi controversy and demand the resignation Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister for inaction in Vyapam case and the External Affairs Minister and the Rajasthan Chief Minister for helping former IPL Chief Lalit Modi.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu ruled out any resignations of the BJP leaders related to Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam.
He was responding to Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad’s remarks that if Mr Modi is interested in running the Monsoon session smoothly, he should remove the External Affairs Minister, the Rajasthan Chief Minister and the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said the government is ready to discuss every issue on the floor of both the Houses of Parliament.
Naidu said that 29 opposition parties did not back the Congress stand on not allowing the House to function. Mr Naidu expressed concern over the media reports that the session will be a wash-out and hoped that those reports will not come true.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also had a meeting with floor leaders of the House. She said, the meeting was good and constructive and the opposition parties have given their assurance to extend cooperation in smooth functioning. In reply to a question, Ms Mahajan said, report of the Joint Committee of Parliament of Land Bill is expected to submit its report in the first week of next month.
Later, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, Congress appears to have been isolated on its stand not to allow Parliament to function.
He said, during the all party meeting as well as Speaker’s meeting, the leaders other than the Congress were of the view that Parliament should function and the relevant issues should be discussed.
On Congress’ demand for resignation of the External Affairs Minister,r Rudy said, she has offered to explain her position on the issue of Lalit Modi controversy on the floor of Parliament. Despite efforts to by the government for the smooth conduct of the session, opposition’s threat of disruption of the proceedings on Vyapam and Lalit Modi case cannot be ruled out.
In course of the three-week session, 24 legislative proposals have been planned to be taken up. These include eight new bills for introduction like Consumer Protection Amendment Bill, Road Transport and Safety Bill, Merchant Shipping Bill and Constitution Amendment bills relating to reservation of Women in Panchayats and Urban Local bodies.
The Lok Sabha will take up SC and ST prevention of Atrocities Amendment Bill and Land Acquisition Bill which are pending in the House. The Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha which will be taken up include Mental Health, Child Labour, Prevention of Corruption, Whistle Blower’s Protection, Real Estate and Juvenile Justice.