Senior Congress leaders will meet here on Monday evening to plan the party’s strategy during the second part of the Budget session of Parliament. The Congress’s parliamentary strategy group will meet on Monday evening to evolve the party’s strategy in cornering the government on key issues, sources said.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, besides other senior party leaders from both houses, would attend the meeting.
Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi and deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari would also attend the meeting. The issues that the Congress is seeking to raise during the Budget session include the duplicate voter I-card issue, which the party wants to rake up in a big way during the upcoming session.
The sources said the Congress is also seeking to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, after the tabling of the report of the joint committee of Parliament that was scrutinising it.
The second part of the Budget session of Parliament is scheduled to begin on March 10 and is likely to conclude on April 4. Some other parties are also likely to raise the duplicate voter I-card issue during the upcoming session of Parliament. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said his party will follow “all democratic routes” to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill when it comes up for passage in Parliament.
He said the INDIA opposition bloc is against the “content, intent and extent” of the proposed legislation.
Ahead of the start of the second half of the Budget session, Ramesh said there will be “extensive consultation” among the INDIA bloc constituents to jointly oppose the bill and the leaders of opposition in both Houses of Parliament will coordinate with the parties on the issue soon.
He also said the Congress will keep raising the issue of irregularities in the election process, alleging that polls are “no longer free and fair” and are being “masterminded and orchestrated”.