The winter session of Parliament will on Monday begin and the opposition has vowed to corner the government over various issues. The government has urged the opposition parties to let Parliament function smoothly.

Hindustan Times reported that the Lok Sabha is expected to take up the bill to repeal the three central farm laws which triggered nationwide protests. The Farm Law Repeal Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet last week. The Bill is likely to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on the same day after its passage in the lower house of Parliament.

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According to news agency, the farmers too will be watching the proceedings closely. After Prime Minister Narnedra Modi made the announcement that the three laws will be repealed, the cultivators said they do not believe in his words and would like to see the bills actually repealed. They have also raised fresh demands on Minimum Support Price (MSP) in a bid to end their protest, which has been going on since November last year.

Legislative priorities

On Sunday, the government called for an all-party meeting to urge to the opposition parties to let the two houses of Parliament function smoothly. Apart from the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, the central government is also expected to bring a bill on cryptocurrency to lay the foundation for Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) digital currency.

The government has said that it is ready to discuss on the floor of the House any issue as permitted under the rules of procedure. At the meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) parliamentary executive committee meeting, the leaders discussed strategy for the winter session.

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The party stressed on higher attendance of its Members of Parliament (MPs) and asked them to come prepared to take on the opposition. A meeting of all the constituents of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was also held where the allies stressed on the need for better coordination among all partners.

What’s the focus of the Opposition?

The leaders of the opposition parties are looking forward to the Farm Law Repeal Bill debate to corner the government over farm issues and also demand a law to guarantee the MSP for agricultural produce.

At the Sunday’s all-party meeting, they also pushed for discussions on price rise, unemployment and the use of Pegasus spyware. Some also asked for discussions on enhanced jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) in certain states. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Sudip Bandopadhyay and Derek O’Brien raised the issue of disinvestment of profitable public sector units.

A total of 31 parties attended the meeting called by the government before the start of the winter session. The session is likely to conclude on December 23.