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| Parliament of India [FILE PHOTO] |
Though other opposition parties are also planning to raise issues like communal violence in Assam, rising prices, economy and drought but the BJP seems strong detractor that would left no stone unturned to weaken the Congress’s credit.
The month-long session will be a litmus test for Home Minister Sushil kumarShinde who has been made the Leader of the Lok Sabha in the wake of exit of Pranab Mukherjee, who has been considered as troubleshooter for Congress for eight-long years.
In a bid to corner the government, BJP has announced plans to raise on the very first day the issue of Assam clashes which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a blot on the nation.
The death of Amarnath pilgrims is also expected to generate uproar in the Parliament.
Apart from this, a spate of railway accidents like the burning episode of Tamil Nadu express is expected to blow wave of charges and counter charges between the Congress and the opposition and that could drive a wedge in the ruling UPA as Mamata Banerjee’s Trinmool Congress leader is in the charge of key ministry.
The recent Pune blast, blackout due to power grid failure in the north and east are among the other issues that are likely to be raised by the opposition.
With the monsoon playing truant in the several part of the country the debate would also turn to the drought situation especially in Maharashtra and Bundelkhand as also the recent floods in Uttarakhand.
Ahead of the session, talk in the ruling circles is that a UPA Coordination Committee will be in place and could have its first meeting on the opening day of the session, thereby projecting a united face of the alliance.
The left party would be seen cornering the Congress over the issue of Food Security Bill pending from the recent past years.
As many as 31 bills have been listed for consideration in the month-long session, which will conclude on September 7. The bills include those on Forward Contracts, Banking laws, whistle-blowers and women's reservation as also the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials bill.
The Congress may try to boost and to bring the issue of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail and oppositions including BJP, left and even some stalwart allies are also likely to oppose the move if the Congress would take.
There may be debate over the Aircel-Maxis deal in which P Chidambaram, who is now the Finance Minister, is under attack for alleged involvement of his family members.
Already, there have been demands for an all-party meeting before a final decision is taken on FDI in retail. The issue of price rise, prices of diesel and petrol, forward contracts, declining confidence in corporate sector over economy could also come up. Government managers have been insisting that they were ready for discussion on any issue.