Adani bribery case, Manipur violence to dominate Winter Session of Parliament as INDIA bloc targets Modi govt

Parliament Winter Session: The Winter Session of Parliament is all set for a stormy start on Monday.

While the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government has listed 16 bills in the session's agenda, the Opposition INDIA bloc has demanded discussions on various issues, including bribery charges against the Adani Group and the fresh wave of violence in Manipur.

Modi government has listed 16 bills in this session of Parliament. This includes five bills for introduction, consideration and passage and 11 bills for for consideration and passage.

The most important legislation in the session will be the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The controversial Bill, introduced in the Monsoon session of Parliament, aims to curtail the powers of the Waqf board, among others. The introduction led to a ruckus in the house, and the Bill was then sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for wider scrutiny.

Victory in Maharashtra, Haryana 

The session begins after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured victories in Haryana in October and Maharashtra last week. The INDIA bloc managed to secure victories in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand.

Ahead of the commencement of the Winter Session of Parliament on Monday, floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties will hold a meeting in Parliament House to decide the opposition strategy, sources said. The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on November 25.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge is expected to decide the strategy of the Opposition for the Parliamentary Session, they said.

The Congress and other opposition parties are expected to raise the Manipur issue and bribery charges against the Adani Group and corner the government in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Last week,Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest men, and seven others were indicted for fraud by US prosecutors over their alleged roles in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure power-supply deals. The Adani Group has denied all allegations, calling them "baseless".

On Sunday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that the union government is "ready to discuss any topic" while calling for a peaceful session of Parliament.

"The government is ready to discuss any topic. Our only request is that the House should run well and there should be no ruckus. Every member wants to participate in the discussion but the House should run well. To run the winter session well, everyone's cooperation is needed and everyone's participation is necessary," Kiren Rijiju said after the all-party meeting in Delhi. The all-party meeting was attended by all floor leaders of political parties in both the houses of the Parliament.

The session which will run until December 20 will have 19 sittings. On November 26, Parliament will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution.

(With agency inputs)