HIGHLIGHTS
On Monday, a joint opposition will stick to its stance that the government accept an ‘adjournment motion’ on banking scams for their protests to stop. It has raised questions about what will be the meeting ground where the government and the opposition can discuss passage of the ‘finance bill’. The Budget is a bipartisan issue which has rarely been put in peril by the opposition. However, a compromise will have to be reached.
Sources in the opposition said unless the government made a dramatic proposal, there appeared little possibility of passage of the Budget before March 19. It implies that the opposition is bracing for another week of the Parliament blockade.
Congress deputy whip K C Venugopal and senior BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab said the government had not reverted to the opposition after the Speaker called a meeting last week to hammer out a solution. The opposition had in unison demanded an ‘adjournment motion’ to discuss banking scams. As an alternative, it was suggested that a “discussion with voting” be held on the subject. However, the Centre prefers that the issue be debated under Section 193, which is a simple discussion without voting.
Opposition parties are suspicious of the protests by BJP-friendly AIADMK and TRS in Parliament, with many seeing it as “strategic” to ensure that banking scam does not hog the headlines. Amid the logjam, BJD said it would be ready for a simple discussion under Section 193 if the Centre reverted to the language originally proposed by the opposition to keep the focus on banking scams. For the opposition and the government, this could be the compromise.
