The Parliamentary Budget Session is set to begin on Monday. The session will begin with President Ram Nath Kovind's speech to both houses in a joint sitting. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, will present the Economic Survey 2021-22 on Monday and the Union Budget on Tuesday.
The first phase of the Budget session will take place from January 31st- February 11th. Following that, it will go into recess to review the financial allocations for several departments.
The session will begin again on March 14 and conclude on April 8. The first part of the session will consist of 10 sittings, while the second part will consist of 19.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will meet at different timings. Members will be seated in both houses during the session to ensure social distancing. The upper house will be in session from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., while the lower house will sit from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, and M Venkaiah Naidu, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, will conduct separate meetings with floor leaders of political parties on Monday to ensure the smooth operation of the Houses throughout the session.
Pegasus Likely To Be Raised
Opposition parties are expected to raise the Pegasus spyware issue, farmer problems, and the border dispute with China during the Budget session.
The New York Times reported earlier this week that India acquired Pegasus spyware as part of a defence agreement with Israel in 2017. The opposition parties want to raise this issue in Parliament.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress leader in Lok Sabha, has already written to Speaker Om Birla requesting that a privilege motion be moved against the government and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for "misleading" the House last year. The government had denied all charges of "spying" in a statement in Parliament in 2021.
The Pegasus issue was also significant to Parliament's Monsoon session last year. Opposition parties demanded a debate on the matter and did not allow the Houses to function as per normal. The government, according to sources, is unlikely to agree to discuss the Pegasus issue during the Budget session.
Other Concerns
During the Budget session, the main Opposition party, the Congress, has indicated it will reach out to like-minded parties to highlight issues such as farmers' suffering, the China-India border row, Covid-19 relief, the sale of Air India etc.
With polls in five states just around the corner, electoral rivalries are likely to be at the forefront of most people's minds. This might have an influence on parliamentary proceedings as well.
Budget Session Details
The Budget session provides only 79 and half hours for the government's legislative agenda and issues of immediate public concern across 29 sittings.
The Rajya Sabha has a total of 135 hours of sitting time available to conduct various items of business over 27 sittings scheduled during February 2 to April 8, with five hours per day.
The budget session is the sixth one to be held since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. While the 2020 Budget Session was curtailed by eight sittings, the 2021 Budget Session was cut by 10 sittings.
