The three-week-long Winter Session of Parliament will begin on Monday, December 1, with discussions on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and "Vande Mataram," and bills on nuclear energy and higher education expected to be the legislature's focus.
The government intends to begin the Winter Session with a full-day discussion on the "Vande Mataram" as the country commemorates 150 years of the national song. The idea is to discuss the full recitation of the national song after Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the removal of "significant verses" from the song in 1937 led to India's partition.
"In 1937, significant verses of 'Vande Mataram', the very essence of its spirit, were removed. Stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' were broken up. This removal sowed the seeds for the eventual partition of the country. Today's generation needs to understand why such injustice was committed against this great mantra of nation-building. Because that same divisive mindset continues to pose a major challenge for the nation even today," the Prime Minister had said on November 7.
Officials say the aim is to remind young people of Vande Mataram's history and its role in the freedom movement. Both the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chair are expected to ask all parties to join in, stressing that Vande Mataram remains a shared national symbol that is already sung at the end of every Parliament session.
The government also plans to bring in 10 key bills, including changes related to nuclear energy, higher education, corporate law, and the securities market.
Opposition To Raise Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Air Pollution
On the other hand, the opposition is preparing to strongly resist the voter-list revision exercise being carried out by the Election Commission of India in nine states and Union Territories.
The Trinamool Congress has time and again opposed the SIR, with the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dubbing it "votebandi". She had asserted that she would protect the rights of voters at any cost, even if it meant her "throat getting slashed" for protesting the exercise.
The Election Commission of India is set to meet a 10-member delegation of the ruling Trinamool Congress today, amid ongoing protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories.
Elections are also due in Tamil Nadu next year, and the ruling DMK is also opposing the SIR, along with the Samajwadi Party.
The government maintains that it is open to discussing any topic during the winter session. However, when it comes to the SIR, the government said it is willing to discuss comprehensive electoral reforms, but it cannot discuss any decision or process of the Election Commission.
The opposition is also protesting bills such as the Atomic Energy and Indian Higher Education Commission and has questioned the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill for Chandigarh.
The opposition is likely to be aggressive on issues such as unemployment and rising air pollution in the Delhi-NCR. In such a situation, it is believed that the winter session may be tumultuous.
The government's strategy for the Winter Session was finalised at a meeting of senior ministers at Defense Minister Rajnath Singh's residence on Wednesday. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has also called an all-party meeting on Sunday to appeal to the opposition to conduct the session with consensus.
