Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Parliament’s budget session begins today, set against a backdrop of controversies including the Kanwar Yatra, NEET, and Manipur. Several states, including those governed by BJP allies, are demanding special status. The Union budget will be presented on Tuesday.
Top 10 Points to Know:
- Union Budget Presentation: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union budget at 11 am on Tuesday, marking another term for her in this portfolio for continuity’s sake. The interim budget for 2024-25 was earlier presented on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
- Economic Survey Release: The session will start with the presentation of the Economic Survey today. This report will provide a comprehensive overview of the economy, detailing the performance of various sectors, employment data, GDP growth, inflation, and the budget deficit.
- Contentious Discussions: The budget presentation will be followed by intense discussions, with the opposition poised to address several controversial topics that were not debated in the previous session.
- Allies’ Demands: The BJP is preparing for demands from its allies, including the rollback of a contentious order in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand requiring eatery owners to display their names.
- Communal Order Criticism: The opposition, including the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, and AAP, has criticized the eateries order as “communal and divisive,” targeting Muslims and Scheduled Castes by forcing identity disclosure. They plan to raise this issue in both Houses of Parliament.
- Special Category Status: Allies from Bihar, Andhra Pradesh (YSR Congress), and Odisha (Biju Janata Dal) are demanding special category status for their states.
- All-Party Meeting Highlights: During an all-party meeting on Sunday, Congress’s Jairam Ramesh reported that the special status demand for Andhra Pradesh was not raised by BJP ally and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
- Controversial Order Critique: BJP ally Jayant Chaudhary, Union Minister and chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal, mentioned the eateries order, suggesting it was implemented without thorough consideration and that the government remains firm on it.
- Rajnath Singh’s Appeal: At the all-party meet, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged the opposition to avoid disruptions during speeches by senior leaders. In the inaugural session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address faced repeated interruptions by opposition slogans.
- Legislative Agenda: The budget session will run until August 12, during which the government aims to pass six bills, including one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act to improve ease of doing business in the aviation sector.
