While the Left has decided to raise the issue of railway safety to fix the Trinamul Congress chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee during the Budget Session of Parliament, the AIADMK will intensify its attack on the UPA ally, the DMK, on the 2G spectrum scam. The main Opposition BJP plans to demand a discussion on corruption in Parliament.
The line of political parties became clear at a meeting of chief whips of political parties in Parliament called by parliamentary affairs minister Paswan Kumar Bansal here on Tuesday. About 25 chief whips were said to have attended the meeting. They included Mr Ramesh Bais and Ms Maya Singh of the BJP, Mr Moinu Hassan of the CPI(M), Mr Rajniti Prasad of the RJD and Union minister Dr Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference.
According to the insiders, the Opposition wants to bring an adjournment motion on the recent increase in petroleum prices and price rise in the essential commodities. But the focus of the Left and the AIADMK would be on Ms Banerjee’s “lacklustre” performance, her negligence to the safety, the AIADMK would launch a frontal attack on the DMK on the spectrum scam. This is because West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are going to the polls in March.
The BJP, on the other hand, would put the Congress and the Centre in the dock on the issue of corruption with a calculation that this could help it in the coming Assam and Kerala polls.
Meanwhile, 32 bills, including the controversial Press and Registration of Books and Publications Bill and the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill will be introduced in Parliament during the Budget Session beginning February 21.
The Press and Registration of Books and Publications Bill has been dubbed as “draconian” by the Indian Newspaper Society, a body of newspaper owners, which alleged the measure has been brought without consulting it.
The Trinanmul Congress, which is a key component of the UPA, has reservations about the Land Acquisition (amendment) Bill as land acquisition is a ticklish issue in the Assembly poll-bound West Bengal where Ms Banerjee is being projected as the next chief minister.