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Business News/ Politics / News/  Modi sets the tone for budget session with stress on economy
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Modi sets the tone for budget session with stress on economy

At all-party meet ahead of budget session, PM says govt will discuss all issues raised by the Opposition
  • Modi says a discussion on the economy would be in the best interest of the country
  • PM Narendra Modi with Union ministers and Opposition leaders, in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI)Premium
    PM Narendra Modi with Union ministers and Opposition leaders, in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI)

    NEW DELHI : A day before the start of Parliament’s budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed to the importance of the economy at an all-party meeting, adding that there should be greater focus on how the global scenario could be turned in favour of India.

    At the meeting called by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Modi made clear the government was ready to discuss all issues raised by the Opposition.

    According to parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, the prime minister, in his concluding remarks on the economy, spoke of how India could take advantage of the situation, keeping the global perspective in mind.

    A statement released later said Modi highlighted that a discussion on the economy would be in the best interest of the country. “In this budget session and in the beginning of the new year, if we can give a proper direction to the country’s economy, it would be in the best interest of the country," he said, according to the statement.

    Joshi said 26 political parties attended the meeting. Another round of an all-party meeting was called by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the evening to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament.

    Although an all-party meeting precedes every session of Parliament, there is a sense of urgency this time given ongoing protests against the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA. Most Opposition parties, along with some members of the NDA, have raised doubts about both CAA and the National Population Register (NPR). Among the parties within NDA that have spoken out against CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are Janata Dal (United) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the two oldest allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    “The government is least bothered about the people protesting on streets over CAA-NRC," said Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader. “This shows their arrogance. They are not bothered about farmers too. The Opposition wants that these issues be discussed too and the government should be sensitive about it. The Union government is focused only on getting bills passed, but we also drew their attention towards the sinking economy, rising unemployment and Kashmir. We told them Farooq Abdullah should be released so that he can attend Parliament and that the government also release other political leaders."

    The budget session is expected to witness fireworks over the state of the economy, unemployment, detention of political leaders and internet curbs in Jammu and Kashmir and issues related to NRC and NPR in the North-East. This is the first full budget session after Modi returned to power, and could see the announcement of key policy initiatives, which the Centre wants to push in the next five years.

    Pressure also comes from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, also the president of JD(U). Kumar has asked the government to make changes to the NPR forms and drop at least 4-5 columns that deal with the names of parents and place of birth of parents. He has already announced that JD(U) parliamentarians would urge the government to drop these questions from the NPR form because it is sending a message that this information would be used for NRC.

    The budget session is also crucial because the Delhi assembly election results will be out in the middle of the session on 11 February and will impact the functioning of the session.


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    Published: 30 Jan 2020, 03:52 PM IST
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