All-party meet ahead of Budget: 'Special category status' demands ring loud

Economic Survey to be tabled today, ahead of Budget on Tuesday. Oppn looks to put govt on the mat on issues ranging from UP order on Kanwar yatra to railway safety, reports Archis Mohan

Regional parties, including those in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made a concerted push for “special category status” for Bihar, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, on Sunday, on the eve of the Budget session of Parliament. 
 

The government is set to present the Economic Survey on Monday; it will be followed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiling the Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday.
 

During an all-party meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), both part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), pressed for this status for Bihar.

Similarly, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, respectively. Seen as parties friendly to the BJP until the 2024 polls, the two have now taken a more assertive stance.

The BJP would lean for the passage of key Bills during the previous 17th Lok Sabha on the BJD. However, Naveen Patnaik’s party, which lost power in Odisha in the recently concluded Assembly polls, showed during the Special session of Parliament that it would stand with the INDIA bloc on key issues. In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP is in alliance with the Telugu Desam, the YSRCP’s principal rival.  
 

At the meeting, the BJD’s Sasmit Patra highlighted the BJP’s earlier promise of special category status for Odisha in its 2014 election manifesto. 
 

The Congress’ Jairam Ramesh, who was present in the meeting, said the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a crucial ally of the BJP at the Centre, was “strangely” quiet on the matter of special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
 

Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, called for a discussion in Parliament on what they termed as “deliberate polarisation” in Uttar Pradesh. 
 

They criticised as “unconstitutional” and “divisive” a recent order by the BJP-run state government requiring eateries on the Kanwar yatra route to disclose the names of their owners and employees so that their religious persuasions become evident.
 

At the meeting, almost all floor leaders demanded the establishment of the 24 department-related standing committees and the election of the deputy chairman of the Lok Sabha, a position left unfilled during the previous Lok Sabha. There was a push to revive consultative committees through which Members of Parliament could interact with ministers concerned and reopen the Central Hall of Parliament. 
 

“The historic Central Hall has sadly fallen into disuse after the opening of the new building of Parliament,” Ramesh posted on X. Ramesh and fellow Congress member Gaurav Gogoi emphasised the need for discussions on governance issues, including the NEET and NET exams, and the controversies surrounding the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
 

Ramesh said the Congress has also demanded discussions on the Agnipath scheme, worsening railway safety, the situation in Jammu and Manipur, challenges on India’s borders with China, and environmental concerns arising out of floods and natural disasters, deforestation, and pollution. It sought discussions on the Centre-station relations and the economic situation.
 

The Budget session, spanning 16 sittings from July 22 to August 12, is expected to be contentious, given the strengthened Opposition INDIA bloc and the BJP’s reliance on allies like the JD(U) and the TDP for the government’s stability. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was ready to discuss on the Floor of the House any issue as permitted under Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business by the respective presiding officers. Fifty-five leaders from 41 political parties attended the meeting.
 

The session saw sharp exchanges between YSRCP and TDP members, with the former accusing the latter of "hooliganism" in Andhra Pradesh.
 

Besides the Union Finance Bill, the government’s legislative priorities include the introduction of five new Bills: The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, the Boilers Bill, the Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak to replace the Aircraft Act of 1934, the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, and the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill. It will also discuss the Budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
 

Additionally, the government plans to bring amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and other laws, such as Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980, in the Budget Session, so that the government's shareholding in Public Sector Banks can go down below 51 per cent.

Varied Demands

> BJP allies JD(U) and LJP (RV) seek special status for Bihar

> YSRCP calls for special status for Andhra, BJD for Odisha

> Oppn seeks post of deputy speaker of Lower House 

> It demands discussions on railway safety, Centre-state relations, NEET-NET, UPSC, Agnipath

> Flags 'unconstitutional' order of UP govt on Kanwar yatra

Story in Numbers: Sitharaman’s last three Budget speeches didn’t exceed 90 mins

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented five full Budgets since her first on July 5, 2019. She has also presented one Interim Budget. Of her speeches of the five full Budgets, the longest was the 2020-21 Union Budget speech, which lasted 158 minutes. It could have gone on a little longer but the FM stopped short of delivering the last seven points of a total 147-point long speech as she found it inconvenient to speak further. She laid the rest of the speech on the table of the House at the request of her ministerial colleagues.