In a day marked by a flurry of pre-session discussions that ended with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s dinner for LS MPs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped by at an all-party meeting called on Wednesday morning by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu to say, “There are great expectations from Parliament... Let’s make it function.” But the Opposition made it clear that it intended to press for a resolution to condemn rising intolerance in the country.
But while the first two days of the winter session of Parliament that starts on Thursday may not see disruptions, even though it may see heated debate, as the focus will be on a special discussion on Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Constitution, from next week, it could well head for a washout again unless there’s a breakthrough on the Goods and Services Tax Bill.
This is especially so as the Opposition, riding high on the defeat of the BJP in the Bihar poll, will expect a direct reply from the Prime Minister on the issue of intolerance – that is unlikely to be forthcoming. On Friday, of course, Mr. Modi is expected to intervene or reply at the end of the Constitution debate, a speech that will be heard with great interest as it could set the tone for the entire session.
BJP to question intellectual honesty of critics
With the winter session of Parliament beginning on Thursday expected to witness a furore over the intolerance issue, the government’s views — articulated by its Ministers — thus far has been that the incidents of violence happened on the watch of non-BJP governments.
To distribute booklets
Indeed, it is learnt that the ruling party will try to question the intellectual honesty of the scholars, historians and artists who have accused it of promoting intolerance not only in its speeches but also by distributing a booklet that was prepared for the Bihar poll entitled: “Why the so-called intellectuals were silent then and violent now; its nothing but ideological intolerance.”
