New Delhi:
The monsoon session of Parliament begins today. It comprises of just 16 working days, but has 44 bills listed, including the food ordinance, that the UPA government is keen to pass as a bill urgently. (Live updates)
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already sought the Opposition's cooperation in the passage of the legislative business including the "most important" ordinance on food security bill.
"Of all the ordinances, the most important is the food ordinance. I sincerely hope Parliament in this session will find it justified to convert the ordinance into a bill," Dr Singh said on Saturday.
The UPA's plan of pushing through the Food security depends on the support it gets from allies like the Samajwadi Party, which provide outside support to the government.
However, their support won't come easy with Congress President Sonia Gandhi writing to the Prime Minister asking for Durga Shakti Nagpal, the bureaucrat who has been suspended by the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government, to be treated fairly.
"The session is starting tomorrow (Monday). We will corner the government, will oppose them. And as Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) has said, we will also vote against the food bill in its present form," said Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Aggarwal.
Apart from the Food Bill, the government is keen to push through the Land Acquisition Bill, amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act and debating the Supreme Court rulings on convicted MPs and jailed politicians.
The Opposition, on its part, specifically wants to debate relaxing the local sourcing norms for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi brand retail, the rupee devaluation, the economy and the clash between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) over Ishrat Jehan's alleged fake encounter, and its implications on the country's security.
"There are only 16 workings days, effectively only 12 days. I don't know how the government has listed over 40 bills," said Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
Going by the past record, 44 bills in 16 working days indeed looks ambitious. Since 2004, when the UPA came to power, Parliament is yet to pass 14 bills that deal with financial issues, 12 bills of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, nine bills relating to internal security, eight bill of the Health Ministry, seven bills concerning labour issues and six bills related to agriculture.
Usually, every party promises that it will ensure smooth functioning of Parliament, only to break them soon after. What now remains to be seen is whether this session will be any different.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already sought the Opposition's cooperation in the passage of the legislative business including the "most important" ordinance on food security bill.
"Of all the ordinances, the most important is the food ordinance. I sincerely hope Parliament in this session will find it justified to convert the ordinance into a bill," Dr Singh said on Saturday.
The UPA's plan of pushing through the Food security depends on the support it gets from allies like the Samajwadi Party, which provide outside support to the government.
However, their support won't come easy with Congress President Sonia Gandhi writing to the Prime Minister asking for Durga Shakti Nagpal, the bureaucrat who has been suspended by the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government, to be treated fairly.
"The session is starting tomorrow (Monday). We will corner the government, will oppose them. And as Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) has said, we will also vote against the food bill in its present form," said Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Aggarwal.
Apart from the Food Bill, the government is keen to push through the Land Acquisition Bill, amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act and debating the Supreme Court rulings on convicted MPs and jailed politicians.
The Opposition, on its part, specifically wants to debate relaxing the local sourcing norms for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi brand retail, the rupee devaluation, the economy and the clash between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) over Ishrat Jehan's alleged fake encounter, and its implications on the country's security.
"There are only 16 workings days, effectively only 12 days. I don't know how the government has listed over 40 bills," said Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
Going by the past record, 44 bills in 16 working days indeed looks ambitious. Since 2004, when the UPA came to power, Parliament is yet to pass 14 bills that deal with financial issues, 12 bills of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, nine bills relating to internal security, eight bill of the Health Ministry, seven bills concerning labour issues and six bills related to agriculture.
Usually, every party promises that it will ensure smooth functioning of Parliament, only to break them soon after. What now remains to be seen is whether this session will be any different.
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