Opposition parties are gearing up to corner the government during Parliament's Budget Session on a host of issues, including NCTC, and target the UPA for alleged trampling of federalism and Centre-state ties.
An all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today saw Opposition leaders raising a variety of issues including repeated "attacks" by the Centre on the federal structure of the Constitution, demand for white paper on black money and violation of the Model Code by several Union ministers.
Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj complained about the short duration of the first phase of the Budget Session at a time when the Opposition has plans to raise several issues.
The three-month long session will begin on March 12 and continue till May 22.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the General Budget on March 16 and Parliament will adjourn on March 30 to enable Standing Committees to examine the Demand for Grants of various ministries and prepare their reports.
The second phase of the session begins on April 24.
Leaders of the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and AIADMK demanded a discussion in Parliament on Centre-state relations, citing the recent move to set up a National Counter Terrorism Centre which many chief ministers feel is a violation of the principles of federalism.
"The Central government is not respecting the sentiments of the states. It is interfering in the rights of the states and usurping their powers," AIADMK leader M Thambidurai told reporters.