Winter Parliament: 8 key bills versus intolerance
The panelists on the show included Chandan Mitra, Salman Khurshid, Naresh Gujral, Baijayant Panda and D Raja.
The winter session of the Parliament starts on Thursday. But the key question is: Will Parliament function, or will it witness the disruption that paralysed the monsoon session? In the wake of growing concern about the alleged mood of intolerance spreading through the country and the BJP's embarrassing defeat in Bihar, it's expected that the government will be confronted by a tough Opposition who believe they have PM Modi and his ministers on the backfoot.
The big questions on the show To The Point, hosted by Karan Thapar, were:
Will the winter session be washed out once again?
Will the intolerance issue stump the BJP government?
Will Bihar debacle put the government on backfoot?
Will critical bills such as GST once again suffer?
Will government and opposition find a middle path on GST?
Will PM break his silence on intolerance issue?
The panelists on the show included BJP Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra, Congress leader Salman Khurshid, Shiromani Akali Dal Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral, BJD Lok Sabha MP Baijayant Panda and CPI Rajya Sabha MP D Raja.
"We have reached out to the Opposition. We have told them that it is not proper to hold democracy to ransom as they did in the last session. The whole country awaits a response from the Congress, which is the main obstructionist party, on whether they'll allow the economy to move forward and for the people of India to prosper and progress. Ultimately people will have the final say," said BJP leader Mitra.
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"We are the main Opposition party, but there are many other Opposition parties, particularly in the upper house. To single out one party for the floor strategy of the Opposition is being a little bit myopic... I don't think that the best thing the government can do is preach to us about democracy. Two wrongs don't make a right," said Congress leader Khurshid.
Some of the key bills that are likely to come up in the winter session are:
- Goods and Services Tax Bill
- Land Acquisition Bill
- Whistle Blowers protection (Amendment) Bill
- Repealing and amending (third) Bill
- Benami transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill
- Consumer Protection Bill
- Supreme Court and High Court Judges Amendment bill
- Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill
Watch the full show here: