Parliament: Congress to oppose delimitation bill; will corner government over donation scam, paper leak and inflation

The Congress has decided to oppose the government on various issues, including donation theft, paper leak, and inflation, in addition to opposing the delimitation bill in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. A key meeting of the party's parliamentary strategic group was held here on Thursday, a day before the monsoon session, where the strategy to be adopted during the session was discussed in detail.

After the meeting, Jairam Ramesh, head of the Congress communications department, said at a press conference at the party headquarters that the meeting lasted for about an hour and a half and was presided over by party leader Sonia Gandhi. The meeting, held at Ms. Gandhi's residence, discussed the party's strategy in detail. He said that the monsoon session is starting from Monday, but the government has not yet provided official information about the bills to be introduced in the session. He hoped that an all-party meeting would be held on July 19, a day before the session starts, where the government would provide information about the proposed bills.

He said that the government might try to bring the delimitation bill and the related constitutional amendment bill again, which the party would strongly oppose. He also said that if the government implements women's reservation on the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats, allocating 181 seats for women, the Congress would support it, but any attempt to delimit on the pretext of women's reservation would not be acceptable. He said that the government is trying to get a two-thirds majority, contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, but the Congress is in constant touch with other opposition parties on the issue and is confident that the government would not get the required two-thirds majority. He said that even if the government succeeds, it would be a tainted majority.

Mr. Ramesh said that the Congress would also oppose people-friendly bills, including the Vikas Bharat Shiksha Foundation Bill, the proposed amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), and possible amendments to the National Food Security Act, 2013. He said that the party is not in favor of these proposals and would oppose them in Parliament. In addition, the Congress would corner the government in the monsoon session on issues such as 'donation theft' and cheating with faith at the Ayodhya Ram temple, paper leaks and examination and education system, especially NEET and other paper leaks, 20% ethanol blending (E-20), weak foreign policy, skyrocketing inflation, and other public issues, and would demand a discussion on these issues.

He said that the monsoon session of Parliament is 19 days long, during which several bills have to be passed, and the opposition wants a discussion on the issues it has raised. He alleged that the Modi government talks about giving priority to the opposition's issues in the all-party meeting, but during the session, there is no discussion on these issues, and only bills are passed. He said that there is a huge difference between the government's words and actions.

In response to a question about the 'one country, one election' issue, Mr. Ramesh said that the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has been asked to submit its report by August 10. There are various discussions about the report, but the Congress is against the idea. He said that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has written a four-page letter expressing his objections because it is against the spirit of the Constitution and the democratic system.

Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on social media platform X that the Congress would hold the Modi government accountable during the upcoming monsoon session on issues such as 'donation theft and cheating with faith' in Ayodhya, organized decline of the education system and paper leaks, institutional capture, politics of breaking political parties, multiple scams and corruption charges, skyrocketing inflation, foreign policy failures and strategic mistakes, imposition of ethanol blending on over 3.5 crore vehicle owners, felling of Belgaum forests, and continuous attacks on the rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward classes and minorities. He said that all these issues were discussed in detail at the Congress parliamentary party meeting.