PARLIAMENT...

The session will run from January 29 to April 8 with a recess from February 15 to March 7. The budget is to be presented in Parliament by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress, reached out to different political party leaders on behalf of Congress president Sonia Gandhi to bring them together on the farmers’ issues. BSP chief Mayawati refused to come on board, but the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Left parties, Nationalist Congress Party, National Conference, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Indian Union Muslim League, Peoples Democratic Party, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , Kerala Congress (Mani) and All India United Democratic Front have joined hands. This is the first time in recent history that nearly the entire Opposition will boycott the President’s customary address to Parliament at the beginning of the first session every year. In 2019, the Opposition skipped Kovind’s special address to a joint sitting on the occasion of Constitution Day.

“The PM and the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government remain arrogant, adamant and undemocratic in their response (to farmers’ protests). Shocked by this insensitivity of the Government, we, the following opposition political parties, reaffirming the collective demand for the repeal of the Anti Farmer Laws and in solidarity with the Indian Farmers, have decided to boycott the President’s address to both the Houses of Parliament on Friday, January 29, 2021,” a joint statement signed by all parties said. “The three Farm Laws are an assault on the rights of the States and violate the federal spirit of the Constitution. If not repealed, these Laws will effectively dismantle the edifice of National Food Security that rests upon MSPS, [minimum support prices], government procurement and Public Distribution System (PDS),” the statement added. With the farm laws emerging as the glue between parties with diverse a outlook, opposition leaders will strive for effective coordination, keeping the upcoming assembly poll dynamics on the back-burner.

The Congress and Trinamool, the two key Opposition parties, are rivals in poll-bound West Bengal. Chief minister and Trinamool head Mamata Banerjee has called a party meeting on Friday to chalk out the party’s parliamentary strategy.

While the Opposition will focus on farm issues, the government wants to replace four ordinances — the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020; the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance. 2020; the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, and the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. It will also push a data protection bill and the DNA technology regulation bill.