President's Address To Kick Off Budget Session Of Parliament Today

The session of Parliament before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, anticipated to take place in April-May this year, will begin on Wednesday. President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the session by addressing both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the newly constructed Parliament building.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to deliver the interim budget on February 1.

The government called for a meeting with all political parties before the session and adopted a conciliatory approach towards the opposition. They mentioned that they had requested the presiding officers of both houses of Parliament to lift the suspension of the MPs who were suspended during the winter session.

After the all-party meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi informed the press that it took place in a favorable environment.

"All (suspensions) will be revoked. I have spoken with the (Lok Sabha) Speaker and (Rajya Sabha) Chairman, I have also requested them on behalf of the government...This is the jurisdiction of the Speaker and the Chairman. So, we have requested both of them to speak with the concerned privileged committees, revoke the suspension and give them the opportunity to come to the House. Both of them agreed," said Joshi.

When questioned about whether the suspended Members of Parliament will attend the House starting tomorrow, Joshi responded affirmatively.

Earlier during the winter session of the Parliament, an unprecedented 146 opposition MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for "violating rules".

Joshi stated that a meeting was attended by 45 leaders from 30 different parties, including the governing BJP. "The meeting was held in a conducive atmosphere. This is a short session and the last one of the 17th Lok Sabha. We have requested the MPs to not come with placards," he said.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari stated that the party plans to address inflation and unemployment as key concerns during the upcoming budget session.

"Inflation and unemployment are two important issues which we will raise in the upcoming session. Investigative agencies are being misused. The latest example of the way ED is working is that of Jharkhand's CM Hemant Soren. Apart from this, atrocities continue in Manipur. I specifically want to say that the debt burden on the country is increasing," Tiwari further said.

"I have raised issues regarding economic situation, federal structure, violent attacks on Rahul Gandhi's Yatra in Assam, doubling the income of farmers, ED-CBI raids, caste census among others," he added.

When questioned about Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's statement that there would be no further elections if PM Modi wins, Tiwari accused the government of lacking faith in democracy.

"What if they change the election process? The public should use its rights and root out the Modi government," he said.

Congress Member of Parliament K Suresh alleged that the BJP government is employing central agencies as tools to target the opposition. "They want to destabilise the opposition as they are scared of opposition unity."

TMC Member of Parliament Sudip Bandyopadhyay has claimed that the government is unwilling to respond to inquiries. "We also raised the issue of suspension of 150 MPs but the attitude of the government is not to reply to any question."

The budget session is set to end on February 9.

Also Read: Interim Budget 2024: Find out the Banking Sector and Personal Tax Expectations