Second part of Budget session begins March 9, all eyes on UP results

The second part of the Parliament’s Budget session, starting on Thursday, is expected to begin on a sombre note. Fireworks might follow, as both the ruling and opposition benches are awaiting the Assembly poll results in five states on Saturday.

Monday is a holiday on account of Holi. So, the effect of the election results, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, would be seen on March 14 or March 15. 

The UP polls saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and the Samajwadi Party-Congress combine leaders, Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi, attacking each other. The result is expected to determine whether the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party or the Congress-led opposition will adopt a more aggressive posture in Parliament.

During the first half of the session, January 31 to February 9, the opposition had targeted Modi over the impact of demonetisation and picked holes in Budget 2017-18, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. In the second half, from March 9 to April 13, the most important legislative agenda for the government would be to get the Finance Bill passed, besides two supporting legislations to the goods and services tax Bill. Demands for grants would also follow. 

Congress managers said the party would raise issues of public interest. Whether there was peace in the Houses or not would depend on how the government responded. “If the government agrees to debate the issues raised by us, we will corner them over facts. If they try to suppress the voice of the opposition, there could be disruption,” Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, told Business Standard.

Opposition leaders are expected to meet informally before Parliament is convened to discuss strategy. Trinamool Congress lawmaker Saugata Roy said his party would have a separate meet to devise a strategy. 

The Rajya Sabha is expected to resume debate on the finance minister’s Budget speech, which could not be concluded in the earlier session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar reviewed the government’s preparedness with officials.  

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Lok Sabha member Mohammad Salim said his party would raise issues such as impact of the note ban on the economy, joblessness, farm sector distress and communal incidents in Kerala and Assam.

Election

The two-month Assembly elections in five states, marked by frequent name- calling, ended on Wednesday, with all eyes on the March 11 results that will be seen as a virtual referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity after his demonetisation decision, said a PTI report. Over 60 per cent turnout was recorded in the last phase in UP, taking the voting percentage to 61 in the staggered elections for the 403-member Assembly.

Manipur witnessed a turnout of about 86 per cent in the second phase today with an overall voting percentage of 85 for 60-member House.

Elections were also held in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa. Exit polls will be released tomorrow.

The election is being billed as a litmus test for Modi as the BJP largely banked on his popularity in its bid for power, especially in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh where it has been out of government for 15 years.

It is also the first major election after the demonetisation decision on November 8 last year.

The political discourse during campaigning in Uttar Pradesh was dominated by name-calling with offensive acronyms being freely used to attack political opponents.

In his rallies, Modi ridiculed the opposition alliance of SP and Congress, saying they together stood for 'SCAM.' and dubbed Mayawati's BSP as 'Behenji Sampatti Party,' a reference to allegations that Mayawati who is popularly known as "behenji" has accumulated a large amount of wealth.

Not to be outdone, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav came out with his own take on SCAM, saying it stood for 'Save Country from Amit (Shah) and Modi'. His remark asking megastar Amitabh Bachchan not to endorse donkeys of Gujarat also left the BJP fuming.

There were also allegations that the BJP was trying to polarise the electorate after Modi's 'kabristan and shamshan ghat' remarks.

The last leg of the polls saw Modi camping in his Lok Sabha seat Varanasi for three days and holding roadshows which were followed by a similar show of strength by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi with his ally, Samajwadi Party chief Yadav.

The two leaders promised to make a government of youth, released a common minimum programme and campaigned together.

Their alliance came under severe attack from the BJP, which called it an act of desperation.

Modi raised the issues of corruption, demonetisation, surgical strikes and 'One Rank, One Pension' to attack his opponents besides listing the achievements of his nearly three-year rule. He addressed over two dozen rallies in the campaign across the states, giving his all in the high-stake elections.

The Congress and other opposition parties hit out at the PM, saying his actions do not behove his position and raised questions on the performance of his government.

In Punjab, 73 per cent polling was witnessed on February 4 while Goa had a record-breaking 83 per cent voter turnout.

Traditional rivals, the BJP and the Congress, are locked in a keen electoral battle in the two states where Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has made its maiden foray in the assembly elections, seeking to play a killjoy for the two major contenders for power.

It is the first outing for Aam Aadmi Party in assembly elections outside Delhi where it rules with an overwhelming majority in the state assembly and it is being keenly watched if it succeeds in its claim of upsetting the applecart of the two major national parties.

In Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance is battling anti-incumbency while Amarinder Singh is leading Congress' bid to return to power after ten years in the 117-member state assembly. 

Bills slated to be taken up in the second half of the Budget session

The Finance Bill, 2017

The Indian Institute of Management Bill, 2017

The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment), Bill, 2017

The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2017

The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Amendment) Bill, 2017

The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2017

The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2017

The Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2017

The Collection of Statistic (Amendment) Bill, 2017

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2017

The Central Goods & Service Tax Bill, 2016

The Integrated Goods & Service Tax Bill, 2016

The Goods & Services Tax (Compensation for loss of revenue) Bill, 2016

The Divorce (Amendment) Bill, 2017

The Footwear Design and Development Institute Bill, 2017

The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, 2017

The High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2017

The Indian National Defence University Bill, 2017

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2017

The Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017