Budget Session of Parliament to resume today
The second half of Parliament's Budget Session is set to resume today. The session is likely to be stormy as the Congress party has said that it will seek the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the Centre's alleged failure in containing violence in the national capital. The first half of the Budget Session, which began on January 31 with an address by President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of the two Houses, had seen protests over the CAA. The Budget Session is slated to conclude on April 3.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday said that his party will continue to press for the resignation of Home Minister Shah and will also unmask them over the violence in Delhi, which left 42 people dead and over 200 injured.
"We will raise all the important issues and unmask them. We will not spare them (BJP). We are asking for Amit Shah's resignation. We will continue to do so in Parliament as well," Chowdhury said.
"Delhi violence took place under their watch. Now the same thing is happening in West Bengal. They are creating the same atmosphere. 'Goli Maro Saalo Ko' slogan is being raised in West Bengal," he added.
The Congress leader also accused the BJP of dividing the country along communal lines.
"They are the ones who are trying to divide the nation. The BJP is the real leader of 'Tukde Tukde' gang. From North-East to Delhi, from Delhi to Karnataka, everywhere they are dividing people," he added.
"The whole country is slowly getting embroiled in communal violence. Wherever they (BJP) go, they will only spew venom," said Chowdhury.
During the second half of the Budget Session, the government is expected to push its legislative agenda that includes Bills relating to surrogacy and resolution of disputed tax.
The Congress has accused the Central and Delhi governments of failing to contain the violence that erupted in parts of northeast Delhi.
Sources said a meeting was held at the residence of party chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday which discussed the party's strategy to corner the government in Parliament on Delhi violence.
The BJP has accused the Congress of "politicising" the violence and said there was "instigation" by opposition leaders to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Congress, on the other hand, has also accused the BJP-led government of ruining the economy of the country by its "monumental mismanagement".
Congress leader Anand Sharma said on Saturday the GDP for the third quarter was at 4.7 per cent and it was the seventh consecutive quarter when it had fallen.
Apart from Finance Bill 2020, Aircraft (Amendment) Bill and The Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill were among the legislations introduced in the first half that concluded on February 11.
The government's legislative agenda for the Budget Session of Parliament includes nearly 45 Bills and seven financial items.
It includes replacing Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, and the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, with Bills during the session.
The Union Budget was presented on February 1 and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replied to the debate on the budget.
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