 "Parliament")
National security, politicisation of surgical strikes, economy and rural distress are the issues through which the Opposition plans to corner the Centre which is keen on getting two GST (goods and services tax) enabling bills passed in the winter session of the parliament — from November 16 to December 16.
The Rajya Sabha, where the Opposition has greater numerical strength over the ruling NDA, would obviously see more action as compared to the Lok Sabha where the BJP enjoys brute majority.
"Politics over surgical strikes, national security, economic condition and the plight of farmers would be the issues that we would like to seek answers from the government on," Satyavrat Chaturvedi, Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, told Business Standard.
Taking forward the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's recent month long Kisan Yatra across poll-bound Uttar Pradesh (UP), the party's younger lawmakers in the Lok Sabha Rajeev Satav and Sushmita Dev said they will highlight the poor condition of farmers across states.
"We will also ask the government the progress on the poll promises made by the BJP. There is no job creation," said Satav.
"We just can't drop the farmers issue and the atrocities on dalits," said Dev.
Echoing similar sentiment, CPI(M) lawmaker M B Rajesh said his party would corner the government on the politicisation of the surgical strikes and a deteriorating economy.
"The industrial production is down. The youth are suffering from high unemployment and the BJP is playing up communal issues," said Rajesh.
The government has advanced the winter session this year by a week to facilitate the passage of two bills which are needed for the roll out of GST from April 1, 2017.
The move, in turn, would allow the government to advance the Budget Session, which usually begins by third week of February.
The new GST regime will subsume excise, service tax and other local levies, including value added tax and octroi.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill aimed at facilitating the new GST regime was passed in the Monsoon Session.
The scheduled assembly elections in UP, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur early next year too will have a bearing on the winter session with the BJP determined to derive political mileage from the September 29 surgical strikes on terrorist camps across the line of control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Sources said defence minister Manohar Parrikar is expected to make a statement over the surgical strikes in the parliament.
The Congress has been attacking the BJP for politicising the surgical strikes with UP players SP and BSP too targeting the saffron party over the issue.
"All parties had supported the government on the surgical strikes but the BJP has vitiated the atmosphere by pollicising a national security issue. We will raise it in the parliament," SP lawmaker from Lakhimpur Kheeri in UP, Ravi Prakash Verma said.
"Besides we would also like to debate the new education policy and health related issues," he said.
A day after protesting over the change of agenda, Congress lawmakers were satisfied with the briefing of Vice Chief of Army Lt General Bipin Rawat before the parliamentary standing committee on defence on Friday over the September 29 surgical strikes.
The government wants to push bills related to labour reforms, enemy property and citizenship during the session.
