Monsoon Session To Begin Today, Congress Demands Debate On Manipur

A day after the show of strength by Opposition parties in Bengaluru, the entire Opposition is all set to raise Manipur violence, railway safety, unemployment, inflation, the status of the India-China Border and trade balance between the two countries among other issues during the monsoon session of the Parliament starting Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Centre convened an all-party meeting and in which 34 parties and 44 leaders participated.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that in all party meeting the leaders raised many important issues in front of the government and the meeting was convened for the smooth conduct of the monsoon session which will continue to till August 11 and will have 17 sittings.

"Currently, the government have 31 legislative items which have been identified. What we have to bring and what not we will decide later but at least 31 legislative items are fully ready now, " he added.

Some of the parties have planned to move an adjournment motion over Manipur violence among other issues on day one of the Parliament's Monsoon Session on Thursday.

The opposition insisted that the discussion should take place in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Opposition parties have given many suggestions and our alliance leaders have also given. All the parties have demanded to have a discussion on the Manipur issue on which government is ready," he added.

"The government is ready to discuss all issues in the Monsoon Session. We have appealed to the Opposition parties to support in the smooth functioning of the Parliament," Mr Joshi said after the all-party meeting.

The government has planned heavy legislative business for the monsoon session of Parliament beginning Thursday with Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, among 31 bills on its agenda.

Apart from the Personal Data Protection Bill, the bill to replace the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, promulgated in May this year is among other key Bills listed for the monsoon session. The ordinance deals with the control of services in Delhi and was promulgated after the Supreme Court verdict on an appeal by the Delhi government.

Other bills on the agenda of the government include Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019; DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019; Mediation Bill, 2021; Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2022; Multi-State Cooperative Societics (Amendment) Bill, 2022; Repealing and Amending Bill, 2022; Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023; Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023; Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 (with respect to State of Himachal Pradesh); Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 (with respect to State of Chhattisgarh); Postal Services Bill, 2023; National Cooperative University Bill, 2023; and Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

The list also includes International Monetary Fund and Bank Bill, 2023; Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023 18; the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023; National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023; Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill, 2023; Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023; Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023.

Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2023; National Research Foundation Bill, 2023; Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023 are also among the 31 bills on the agenda of the government.

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, was approved by the Union Cabinet earlier this month.

This government had withdrawn Personal Data Protection Bill from Parliament in August last and said that it will come up with a fresh bill. Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that privacy is a fundamental right and the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, is a crucial pillar of the overarching framework of technology regulations being framed by the Centre.

The previous version of the bill had come after an extensive consultation process with a Joint Parliamentary Committee also examining it. The government has held another round of consultations to frame the new bill.

The bill to replace the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, seeks to establish the National Capital Civil Services Authority, which consists of the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary of Delhi, and Principal Home Secretary of Delhi.

The Authority will make recommendations to the Lieutenant Governor (LG) regarding transfers and postings of officials and disciplinary matters.

While the government is expected to give a push to its legislative agenda, the Opposition parties have planned to raise several issues including Manipur violence, railway safety, unemployment, inflation, the India-China border standoff and the trade imbalance between the two countries.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that our party's demand is for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the Manipur issue in the House.

"...The first demand of our party is for the PM to give a statement in the House on the Manipur issue and give us the opportunity to discuss it. Tomorrow, we want to bring an Adjournment Motion over this.

"Besides this, a major part of the country is reeling under flood. This should also be discussed. The (Balasore) Railway accident should be discussed too," he added.

"There is unemployment and inflation - these are common issues. But the blow to the Constitutional institutions should also be discussed. The India-China border situation and the trade between the two countries should also be taken up for discussion...," he said.

Moreover, Indian Union Muslim League MP in an all-party meeting said that there were strong protests against the Uniform Civil Code. I told the government that it is dangerous and it will disturb the harmony among the people in India.

"I also raised concerns about Manipur at the all-party meeting. I urged the government to intervene and solve the problem," he added.

Moreover, BJD MP Sasmit Patra Biju Janata Dal pitched for a parliamentary nod for the women's reservation bill.

"BJD pitched for a parliamentary nod for the women's reservation bill and also asked for special status for Odisha at the all-party meeting. We also raised the issue of the pending construction of over 7 lakh houses for the poor under a central government scheme and more," BJD MP Sasmit Patra Biju said after the meeting.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari demanded a discussion on the Manipur issue.

"Manipur is not just a state issue but an international border. Discussions should be held and PM Narendra Modi should answer. We appeal to the ruling party to let the Parliament function properly," Pramod Tiwari said.

Moreover, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Mahua Maji said that there are lots of issues to which the central government is not paying any attention. In today's meeting, we discussed the issues related to our area. In the border area Santali workers who are working not getting any accidental benefits.   

She further said that "There is a huge shortage of electricity because the install Adani project is not giving its required 25 per cent electricity to the state. There should also be a woman's reservation bill. So, these are the issues we wanted to discuss in this parliament session."

Bharat Rashtra Samithi party leader Kancherla Keshava Rao said that the irony of the entire meeting is that we started the meeting with the first subjects as an ordinance. There are two things we must know; first, the supreme court has said no to it and it must be clarified.

After all party meeting Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Amarendra Dhari Singh raised the issues for Manipur, ordinance of Delhi.

"I also raised issues for Manipur, special ordinance in Delhi & special packages in Bihar," Amarendra Dhari Singh.

The grand old party Congress will raise issues including the Manipur situation, assault on the federal structure and others in the upcoming session.

"We want to have a discussion on the Manipur situation in the upcoming session of Parliament. The second issue is the assault on democratically elected state governments through Governors and LGs, Delhi ordinance is one such example," the Congress leader said.

He said that the party will also corner the Central government on the issue of inflation in the Parliament.

"Third issue is the price rise... And of course, the JPC issue on the Adani scam. We will oppose the Forest Conservation Act amendment bill and amendments to the Biological Diversity Act. We will oppose the Delhi ordinance," he added.

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired an all-party meeting, convened by the Central government for the smooth functioning of the monsoon session of Parliament which begins on Thursday.

The monsoon session of Parliament will continue till August 11. There will be a total of 17 sittings during the session. The Monsoon session will start in the old Parliament Building.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)