New Delhi: LoP Rahul Gandhi will present his economic and political ideas as well as a strong critique of the Centre during the two key debates that will take place in the Lok Sabha over the week starting Monday.
Rahul will open a debate on the Jan 31 presidential speech that will start on Monday and will later lead the discussions on the union budget in the lower house of parliament. PM Modi will reply to the debate on the presidential speech on Tuesday evening.
Soon after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget on Feb 1, a war of words ensued between the treasury and the opposition benches over the document.
The ruling NDA dubbed the budget as pathbreaking while the opposition described the same as an election gimmick and one that lacked vision.
“The LoP will open the debate on a motion to thank president Murmu for her joint address to both the houses on Feb 3. Though there will be separate debate on the budget, the lop can reflect on any issue he deems fit. It certainly is going to be a strong rebuttal to all the claims that have been made by the government,” Congress Lok Sabha MP Saptagiri Ulaka told ETV Bharat.
According to Congress insiders, Rahul has picked up a lot of holes in the budget which he thinks has failed to address the key issues like job creation and curbing price rise. Besides the economy, the lop will also flag political points to target the Centre and the ruling BJP, said the insiders.
“The entire government is going gaga over the increase of personal tax exemption limit to Rs 12 lakh per year. Though I welcome it, the same has been pending for a long time and has come a bit late in the day. The move was an attempt to please the middle class but the budget did not address the key issue of job creation and reduced incomes over the past years. Besides this one proposal, there is nothing big in the budget. The lop has been flagging his concerns over the slow economic growth for a long time and is likely to touch upon them again,” said Ulaka.
According to party insiders, Rahul Gandhi may also flag the alleged VIP culture during the ongoing Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj and the recent death of several pilgrims during a stampede.
“There is a blame game going on over the number of persons killed during stampede and widespread reports of mismanagement at the mela,” said Ulaka.
Finally, the lop is also likely to reiterate his demand for a caste census which is part of his focus on OBC politics.
“There demand for a caste census is very close to the lop. Interestingly, there were reports earlier that the government was planning to hold a decadal census this year but there was no mention of the same in the budget. Usually, a census is preceded by allocation in the budget as the mammoth exercise requires substantial funds. Our leader has been demanding a caste census to be done along with a regular census to facilitate a more just distribution of Centre’s welfare funds,” Ulaka added.
