New Delhi:
As Parliament reconvened on Wednesday for the last time before the general election, the Congress is under pressure to maximize the 12-day session to prove to voters that it is bent on punishing corruption, a posit offered by Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the party's effort to ask for a third consecutive term.
The Prime Minister said this morning, "I sincerely hope all sections of the House can work together to pass theses bills."
But Finance Minister P Chidambaram spoke more plainly. "I doubt if Parliament will pass any bill in this session," he said.
The Congress agenda has 39 bills including six anti-corruption bills to address public anger over a retinue of financial scandals that have tagged the government.
The party also wants to push through a proposal to create a new state,
Telangana, by carving it out of Andhra Pradesh. The Congress would profit electorally from the move, but many law-makers are opposed to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and have guaranteed daily disruptions to ensure the proposal is stalled.
(Parliament's last session begins with sparring over Telangana)"There is no obligation on the part of the opposition to allow Mr Rahul Gandhi to get his agenda pushed though," said the opposition BJP's Chandan Mitra. "The government is trying to end this term on a high, but we don't want to give them an easy ride."
He acknowledged that clearing the interim budget was a priority as "no one wants a shutdown."
The Congress' efforts to impress voters by lobbying for new laws that would amplify protection for whistle-blowers or reserve a bloc of parliamentary seats for women come as opinion polls put the BJP considerably ahead of the Congress in the national election. The dates have not yet been called, but the election must be held by May.