Govt eyes key Bills as Parliament braces for stormy Monsoon Session

Parliament's Monsoon Session is set for a stormy start on Monday, with the government preparing to push several key Bills while the Opposition plans to corner it over issues including the NEET paper leak, the Ayodhya Ram temple donation controversy and alleged institutional capture.

The session, scheduled to continue till 13 August, will begin amid a planned march to Parliament by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has been protesting at Jantar Mantar over the alleged NEET paper leak.

The agitation intensified after activist Sonam Wangchuk's 21-day hunger strike was ended by police, who shifted him to hospital on Saturday.

The government is expected to make another attempt to pass the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill on women's reservation and delimitation, though it is yet to be included in the official legislative agenda. The Bill, which was defeated in the previous session, proposes reserving 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies through a fresh delimitation exercise before the 2029 general election.

The issue has already triggered political sparring, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an all-party meeting.

The BJP-led NDA is seeking to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass the constitutional amendment. Its numbers in the Lok Sabha could receive a boost following the defection of 20 Trinamool Congress MPs and six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs.

A key development during the session could be Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's decision on petitions relating to the merger of the 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India and the claim by six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs seeking to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha.

If the Speaker rules in favour of the rebel MPs, the NDA's strength in the Lok Sabha will increase, although it will still remain short of the two-thirds majority required to pass a constitutional amendment.

Among the Bills listed for consideration during the session are the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill and the Vikshit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill. The government also plans to introduce legislation to make obstruction or insult of the national song Vande Mataram a criminal offence, along with Bills to replace ordinances increasing the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges and granting capital tax exemption to foreign institutional investors investing in government bonds.

Congress president Kharge has said the party will raise issues including institutional capture, the breaking of political parties, alleged scams and corruption, inflation, foreign policy and ethanol blending in petrol. The Congress has already held a strategy meeting, while a broader Opposition meeting is expected on Monday ahead of the session.

The government has convened the customary all-party meeting on Sunday and is expected to defend its handling of the NEET paper leak by highlighting action taken against those accused and measures implemented to conduct a fresh examination.

According to sources, the government is also expected to argue that allegations relating to the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya fall within the jurisdiction of the Uttar Pradesh government.

Government sources said the Centre's priority during the Monsoon Session would be to secure the passage of key legislation despite the expected confrontation with the Opposition both inside and outside Parliament.