Left vs Right battle may hurt Centre in House

NEW DELHI: Four all-party meetings in seven days — an unprecedented level of consultation between the government and the Opposition — will precede the budget session of Parliament that begins on Tuesday.

The longest session of the year, however, will start amid worsening relations between the government and the Congressled Opposition. Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s suicide, sedition charges against JNU students and Pathankot air base attack have provided fresh ammo to the Opposition.

The past two sessions were virtually washed out due to Opposition disruptions, forcing the government into intense negotiations with the other side ahead of this session. Vice-President Hamid Ansari and PM Narendra Modi took the rare step of convening all-party meetings at their respective offices. On Monday, Lok Sabha speaker and parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu will chair two separate meetings to build bridges between the treasury and Opposition benches.

So far, both the NDA and Opposition parties like SP, BSP, Trinamool Congress, JD(U), RJD and DMK have maintained they are keen to see the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha running smoothly.

Naidu said, “Disruptions don’t send right message to the people. Before the budget session, there is an overwhelming sentiment among political parties in favour of smooth running of Parliament.”

While Modi and other ruling leaders are looking forward to push the long-awaited reforms agenda, it may not be an easy task.