Will monsoon session of Parliament be ‘fruitful’ or another ‘washout’?

As the monsoon session is all set to start, the nation is keeping its fingers crossed for the smooth functioning of Parliament.

New Delhi, July 17: Looking at the current chaotic political situation in the country, where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition, especially the Congress, are engaged in a dirty war of words, the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament is likely to be a stormy one.

While the BJP hopes that unlike the last budget session of Parliament, the monsoon session will see the passing of important bills to strengthen its position ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Opposition is not only mooting to bring a no-confidence motion against the ruling Narendra Modi government at the Centre but also wants to discuss some of the most controversial topics on the floor of the Houses.

The monsoon session of Parliament will start from Wednesday (July 18) and will end on August 10.

It would be interesting to see if in a period of almost one month political parties will be able to forget their differences and let run Parliament smoothly for the greater good of the democracy.

The leaders of the opposition parties met at the national capital on Monday evening to discuss the strategies they are going to adopt for the upcoming Parliament session.

Reports say that at least 14 opposition parties attended the meeting to discuss on subjects like fielding of a joint candidate for the post of the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha (which is currently vacant) and a no-confidence motion against the Modi regime, to name a few.

The opposition parties also want to raise several questions in Parliament on controversial issues like mob lynching, atrocities on Dalits and women, rising unemployment, woes of farmers and backwards, and reservation in higher education institutions.

The leaders of the opposition parties told reporters that they want Parliament to function in the upcoming session after the government reached out to the Opposition with assurance for debate on any subject of its choice.

"The opposition parties present at today's meeting decided with consensus that they want Parliament to function," leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad was quoted as saying by NDTV.

"If after this, there are disturbances, then the government will be responsible for it, not the Opposition," he added.

The leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will hold a meeting on Tuesday ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, reported ANI.

Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar has called an all-party meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss the agenda for the monsoon session with them, added Hindustan Times. Moreover, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will also meet the leaders separately in the evening.

The six controversial bills set to be discussed in Parliament during the monsoon session include:

1. Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017
2. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016
3. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Third Amendment) Bill, 2017
4. The National Medical Commission Bill 2017
5. The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2018
6. DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill 2018

Political experts predict that these bills are likely to be met with a lot of resistance and debate which in all likelihood might create a logjam in Parliament.

The second half of the budget session of Parliament was a total washout after four no-confidence motions were brought against the BJP-led NDA government by the Telugu Desam Party.

As the monsoon session is all set to start, the nation is keeping its fingers crossed for the smooth functioning of Parliament.