The second half of Parliament’s Budget session starting Monday is expected to be a fiery one, with the Opposition set to target the government by raising several burning issues, ranging from delimitation and three-language formula policy to the US trade tariffs and alleged manipulation of electoral rolls. There is likely to be a showdown between the Treasury and the Opposition benches over the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill, which has been cleared by the Union Cabinet for introduction in Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the government is keen on early passage of the Waqf Bill, claiming that it would solve many issues of the Muslim community. The NDA allies like the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP have already indicated that they would support the legislation with the changes approved by the Joint Committee of Parliament in the face of the Opposition's protest. The Congress has asserted that the INDIA alliance leaders will hold "extensive consultations" to jointly oppose the Waqf Bill. The government's focus during the upcoming session will be on getting Parliament's nod for the demands for grants and completion of the budgetary process through the passage of the Appropriation and Finance Bills. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to table the Budget for Manipur on Monday, which has been under President's rule since February 13 after the resignation of chief minister N Biren Singh. Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to move a statutory resolution seeking Parliament's approval for the proclamation of President's rule in the Northeastern state. The fresh bout of violence in Manipur amid the Centre's bid to enforce free movement through the state’s highways is likely to be flagged by the Opposition MPs. The state has been roiled by ethnic clashes since May 2023. The Congress has scheduled a meeting of its Parliament Strategy Group on Monday to work out its strategy for the session, which will conclude on April 4. The INDIA parties are set to coordinate their moves in a joint bid to corner the government on a host of rows. Sources said that while the tariff offensive by the US will be among the issues that the Congress and other INDIA parties are going to raise “strongly”, the row over the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US in chains would also be raked up by them. The Congress has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take Parliament into confidence on US President Donald Trump’s statement that India has agreed to cut its tariffs “way down” as he repeated his claim that the latter charges America massive tariffs. The Congress's general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh asked the government Saturday whether the interests of Indian farmers and manufacturers are being “compromised” in the process. A delimitation storm is also brewing in the South with Tamil Nadu CM and DMK president M K Stalin emerging as its key voice opposing the population-based exercise over fears that southern states would lose out on the Lok Sabha seats. An all-party meeting that Stalin held in Chennai last Wednesday asked the Centre to extend the 1971 Census-based delimitation framework for another 30 years beyond 2026. On Friday, Stalin also wrote to a group of the CMs and ex-CMs of various states in Southern and Eastern India, calling on them to join him in forming a united front against the delimitation exercise. The DMK would also raise the issue of alleged “Hindi imposition” through the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The issue would be a test for the Congress, which has to balance its Southern interests with its revival plans in the North, where Bihar is slated for the Assembly polls later this year. A meeting of the DMK MPs held by Stalin in Chennai on Sunday decided to raise the issues of delimitation and Hindi 'imposition' in Parliament. Congress sources said that during the Parliamentary Business Advisory Committee meeting on Monday, the party would seek discussion on the demands for grants of the External Affairs, Defence, Railways and Agriculture ministries in the Lok Sabha. In the Upper House, the party would demand discussions on the functioning of the Home, Education, Railways and Health ministries. The TMC will highlight the issue of duplicate EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers in different states. The party has rallied its INDIA allies including the Congress to take on the BJP as well as the EC over it. The EPIC row was first flagged by TMC chief and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at a recent conclave of her party in Kolkata, where she accused the BJP of allegedly manipulating the voter lists in collusion with the EC. In its statement, the EC said while the EPIC numbers of some voters "may be identical", other details such as demographic information, Assembly constituency and polling booth are different. – With PTI inputs
