 (6).png)
1 day ago
1
ARTICLE AD BOX
As the Budget Session of Parliament kicks off, the opposition, led by Congress, is gearing up to challenge the government on key issues like MGNREGA and foreign policy. With 30 sittings planned, can the government navigate the stormy waters ahead?
Budget 2026: The Parliament is likely to witness an uproar during the Budget session beginning today, as the Congress-led Opposition is set to corner the government over the National Rural Employment Bill, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and various environmental issues.
The budget session of Parliament begins today, 28 January. The session starts with an address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of both the Houses – the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group met on Tuesday at the residence of Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to discuss a list of key issues, including the VB G RAM G Act (known earlier as MGNREGA) and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), as the party is looking to discuss these issues in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament.
"CPP President Sonia Gandhi chaired the meeting. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, LoP Rahul Gandhi and all senior leadership were present. We discussed the budget session and the issues that we plan on raising during the session. The biggest issue is MGNREGA...Environmental issues, the issue of Ladakh and J&K, and the foreign policy issues will also be raised," Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said after the meeting.
Kharge calls a meeting
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, has called for a meeting of the INDIA bloc parties on Wednesday morning to finalise a joint strategy for the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament.
An all-party meeting was held on 27 January to discuss the smooth functioning of the two Houses of Parliament. At the meeting, the government has rejected the Opposition's demands for discussions on the VB-G RAM G Act and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the Budget session of Parliament.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the two issues had already been debated by both the Houses and "we cannot reverse the gear". Rijiju made these remarks after an all-party meeting convened by the government on the eve of the Budget Session of Parliament.
During the meeting, opposition members, including Congress's Jairam Ramesh and John Brittas of the CPI(M), also objected to the non-circulation of government business for the session, which the minister said would be done in due course.
Opposition members wanted a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, VB-G RAM G law on employment guarantee that replaced the MGNREGA scheme, the tariffs imposed by the US on India, foreign policy matters, the issue of air pollution, state of the economy, ban on social media for early teens, among other issues, news agency ANI said quoting people familiar with the developments.
The Budget Session will commence on 28 January and continue till 2 April, with an intersession break. The first phase runs from 28 January to 13 February, while the second phase runs from 9 March to 2 April.
The biggest issue is MGNREGA... Environmental issues and foreign policy will also be raised.
The Budget Session will have 30 sittings, and the Union Budget 2026-27 will be presented on 1 February.
(With ANI inputs)
Key Takeaways
- The Budget Session will run from January 28 to April 2, featuring significant political contention.
- Opposition parties are uniting to address critical issues like employment guarantees and environmental policies.
- The government has already dismissed demands for further discussions on previously debated issues.
English (US) ·