Govt relents agrees for a price rise debate

New Delhi: Ruckus forced the Speaker to adjourn the Lok Sabha twice: once in the morning and then in the afternoon when it met at 2pm. Earlier, facing the onslaught of a united Opposition, the NDA government agreed to have a debate on price rise. The Budget Session beginning on Monday will test the floor management skills of the new government. After price rise, Congress will now try to corner the government over the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board scam.

The government is clear that it is heading into the five-week session with a focus on passing Budgets. “The priority for the government is to pass the Rail Budget and the Union Budget by July 31, before the interim Budgets expire,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said.

Meanwhile, the Congress leaders who have been demanding the Leader of Opposition post will hold a strategy meet before Parliament session begins.  

As per the list of business, Home minister Rajnath Singh will be introducing the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Amendment Bill 2014. The government is also likely to make a statement on the condition of Indians in Iraq on the floor of the house.

In its endeavour to tackle inflation, the emphasis of the government is on the supply of cereals, pulses, onions, potatoes and tomatoes. The states have been asked to identify pockets vulnerable to scarcity and to establish price monitoring cells. The states have also been asked to set up revolving fund to be used for market interventions when needed.

The Centre is likely to set up price stabilisation fund to help states. The Centre has asked the states to discourage hoarding, cartelisation and artificial shortages.

The BJP leaders have claimed that the upcoming Union budget would focus on efforts to put the faltering economy back on track. “In legacy, we have got an empty treasury. Due to the problem in Gulf countries, the prices of oil are going up, but the avenues to earn revenues are still the same.

So Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will take all the steps that have to be taken to bring back the derailed economy on track,” BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said.

Reminded that BJP had opposed the rail fare hike when it was in the opposition, but now it is proposing the same, “The opinion of Parliament was that the Railways has to be of a world class category. This decision was part of an interim budget, which has been implemented. This is not a levy that we have imposed on our own.”

There are high expectations from the government which came to power with a massive mandate on the promise of putting the economy back on track.