Annual Budget Session 2023: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar on Sunday conducted an all-party meeting at his residence in Delhi. VP Dhankar called this meeting ahead of the Second Phase of the 2023-24 Annual Budget Session. The second leg of the Budget session will commence on Monday. The session, which began on January 31, is likely to conclude on April 6.
Second phase of Annual Budget Session 2023-24
Parliament is meeting after a month-long recess which allows various parliamentary panels to scrutinise allocations made in the Union Budget for different ministries. On Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Supplementary Demands for Grants - Second Batch for 2022-23. She will also table the budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the year 2023-24 in Lok Sabha. The UT is at present under central rule. The two items are listed in the order paper of Lok Sabha for Monday.
Opposition leaders to hold a meeting on Monday
Opposition leaders will hold a meeting Monday morning to firm up their floor strategy for the second leg of the Budget session as they gear up to corner the government on issues such as alleged misuse of probe agencies and the Adani row.
The opposition leaders are expected to meet at Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge's office in the Parliament complex around 10 am, sources said. The Congress MPs will gather at the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson's office shortly thereafter to deliberate on the party's strategy, they said.
Points to be raised during the meeting
The opposition parties are gearing up to corner the government on issues such as alleged misuse of probe agencies to target their leaders, allegations against the Adani Group, border standoff with China, price rise and unemployment.
The Congress continues to demand a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the allegations related to the Adani Group.
Congress MP K Suresh maintained that his party will continue to raise the Adani-Hindenburg issue as the government is yet to provide a reply to the controversy.
The focus, however, is on the alleged misuse of probe agencies with RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family facing heat from central agencies in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
Left parties lodged strong protesters against the central government and probing agencies
Parties such as the Samajwadi Party, the Left parties and the DMK have also lodged their strong protests against the alleged attack on the federal structure and the misuse of institutions.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the Narendra Modi government of making "sinister attempts to kill democracy" by misusing probe agencies against opposition leaders, as he slammed the Centre over the ED searches on the premises of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad's family.
(with inputs from PTI)
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