Farmers Movement Archive

Parliament: Congress leaders want Rahul Gandhi to initiate debate on budget today

Several Congress leaders are trying to ensure former party chief Rahul Gandhi initiates the all-important debate on the general budget from the Opposition side on Wednesday. The budget debate will start in Lok Sabha on Wednesday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply on the motion of thanks to the President’s speech. The debate on the Union Budget will also commence in the Upper House on Wednesday. While senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is scheduled to be the first speaker of the Congress on the budget debate, Congress floor leader Adhir Chowdhury told HT on Tuesday evening that the plan might change. “Rahul Gandhi will speak on the budget. He might also be the first speaker,” Chowdhury said. Also Read | Opposition leaders hit out at govt on farm lawsHe also added, “plans can always change” when pointed out that the Congress has informed the Lok Sabha secretariat that Tharoor will initiate the debate. An aide of Gandhi’s also said, “There is a plan for him to speak, but it is not confirmed whether he will open the debate.” Congress leaders pointed out that Gandhi will leave for a two-day tour to Rajasthan on February 12, leaving him a small window—Wednesday and Thursday—to participate in the budget debate. The budget debate is also Gandhi’s last chance to actively participate in the first half of the session as it will end on February 13. The second half of the session will debate the finance bill and demand for grants of different ministries. While he hasn’t spoken so far in the ongoing budget session, Gandhi, has been active on social media to slam the government’s economic policies and the budget and has held two press conferences on farm issues and budget. His aides, meanwhile, also revealed that Gandhi is upset over his party’s floor strategy in the Rajya Sabha vis-à-vis the farm protests. Gandhi disapproved the decision of the Congress leadership in Rajya Sabha to join the debate on the President’s speech last week while the party leaders in Lok Sabha continued to disrupt and protest, exposing a major fissure in the Congress’ parliamentary tactics. According to party insiders, Gandhi has made his displeasure known to the Rajya Sabha leaders. Last Wednesday morning, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha leadership of the Congress received a missive from Rahul Gandhi: the party should continue to protest if the government did not accept the Opposition’s demand for a separate debate for farm issues. But minutes later, the Rajya Sabha leadership of the Congress, along with other Opposition parties, negotiated with the government’s floor managers to extend the time for debate on the president’s speech by another five hours; and the debate started after the suspension of the Question Hour and the Zero Hour. Gandhi signalled his approval for the party’s stand in the Lower House in a meeting with some Opposition leaders. He told them that they were on the “right path” and a separate discussion on the farm issues is “absolutely essential”. Gandhi also allayed apprehensions that many Opposition MPs might stop coming to the House disruptions persist, and said, “we will ensure that MPs come to the Lok Sabha.”

Hindustan Times

10-02-2021

India