Opposition parties of the INDIA bloc decided to raise the repeal of MGNREGA and SIR during the Budget session while continuing to participate in parliamentary debates.
The decision follows opposition protests during the President’s address, which drew sharp criticism from the government, even as Congress leadership reaffirmed its strategy to press the issues in Parliament.
Opposition To Raise MGNREGA, SIR Issues, Plan Protests During Budget Session
Leaders agreed to stage democratic protests during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address and the presentation and discussion of the Union Budget.
Summary
Opposition parties on Wednesday decided to raise the issues of the repeal of MGNREGA and SIR during the Budget session of Parliament, while staging democratic protests even as they participate in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address and the Union Budget.
Leaders of several opposition parties from the INDIA bloc met in the chamber of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Kharge, to deliberate on their strategy for the Budget session, sources said.
The leaders also agreed to protest during the debate on the Motion of Thanks as well as during the presentation and discussion of the Union Budget.
"The Opposition will use all democratic means to demand the restoration of MGNREGA," AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
Following protests by opposition members during the President’s address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised their conduct, calling it a matter of shame.
"The manner in which the opposition acted today is a matter of shame for the country. The Congress and its allies will never be forgiven. While tributes were being paid to 'Vande Mataram' on its 150th anniversary and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the opposition created a ruckus, disrupting the House when the nation should have been remembering their sacrifices," he said.
Leaders from the TMC and the AAP were not present at the meeting, which was attended, among others, by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretaries Ramesh and K C Venugopal, DMK’s TR Baalu, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, Samajwadi Party’s Javed Ali Khan, RJD’s Prem Chand Gupta, CPI(M)’s John Brittas, CPI’s P Sandosh and RSP’s N K Premchandran.
The opposition meeting came a day after senior Congress leaders decided to raise issues related to MGNREGA and SIR during the Budget session, despite the government’s refusal to allow further debate on them.
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That decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s parliamentary strategy group held on Tuesday at the residence of Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, which was attended by the Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge.
(with PTI inputs)
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