Protests set to drown out bills

NEWDELHI: The Opposition plans to stage a protest in Delhi and wants a debate in Parliament overissuesthatincludethe farm crisis, unemployment, and alleged misuse of constitutional bodies, reducing the chances of passage of key bills in the remaining period of the ongoing session, the last before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

According to a senior Opposition leader who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the plan is to organise a protest next week, and, simultaneously, push for a debate in Parliament.

The last session of the current Lok Sabha ends on February 13. A senior Opposition leader said that non-nda (National Democratic Alliance) parties will meet to finalise the plan for a protest to highlight issues against the ruling BJP.

Theprotest isexpectedtotake place between February 12 and 14. On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha managed to start the debate on President’s speech, but in the Upper House repeated disruptions led to an adjournment.

In the Lok Sabha, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, the two leading Opposition parties, walked out of the House in the afternoon and didn’t participate in the discussion on the motion to thank the President for his speech to the joint sitting of Parliament.

With the original schedule jeopardised , the government may now get only the last two days in both Houses to push key pieces of legislation. The bills that were earlier scheduled to be passed in the Upper House include The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019, to replace an ordinance; The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018; The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2019, The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (to make leprosy a ground for divorce), and the Aadhaar and other Laws (Amendment) Bill.