The Budget session of the Parliament started on Monday even as a united Opposition cornered the NDA government on multiple key issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the media before the proceedings began, but did not take any questions.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey in Lok Sabha on Monday. She is scheduled to present the Union Budget for 2024-25 on July 23. This is the first Budget of the Modi government since the NDA came back to power for a third straight term.
Ms. Sitharaman will be presenting her seventh straight Budget, surpassing the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented five annual Budgets and one interim Budget between 1959 and 1964 as finance minister. Ms. Sitharaman has presented six straight Budgets, including an interim one in February this year since she was appointed as the Union Finance Minister in 2019.
The session is scheduled to have 16 sittings and is likely to conclude on August 12. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that this session will mainly be devoted to the financial business relating to the Union Budget for 2024-25 which will be presented on July 23.
Union Ministers Jayant Chaudhary, Pankaj Chaudhary, Kirtivardhan Singh and Sukanta Majumdar will lay papers on the table in Lok Sabha on Monday. Matters under rule 377 are likely to be taken up for discussion in Lok Sabha.
Meanwhile, the Opposition demanded discussions several subjects including, the Uttar Pradesh Government’s order to display nameplates at eateries falling on the Kanwar Yatra route, the rising number of terror cases in Jammu, internal strife in Manipur and irregularities in NEET and other competitive exams. Several political parties also urged the Centre to reconsider its stance on giving special status to States like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha at the all-party meet on July 21.
