Hot House

And the government, like the hapless Delhi denizen, will have to carefully thread its way through water-logged debates and occasional cloudbursts and push through some major legislation.

The BJP, consumed by inner conflict and a crisis of confidence, has not been able to make much of a mark as the main opposition party in the last two years. That is why, for the BJP, the upcoming Parliament session is crucial.

The events of the preceding few months8212;price rise and the Mumbai blasts in particular8212;are ideal ammunition for any Opposition party bent on bombarding the incumbent government. Parliament also provides a far easier battleground than the streets outside, and BJP MPs are all set to exercise their vocal chords.

Although the BJP leadership has identified as many as 80 issues to be taken up this session8212;including 18 calling attention motions8212;their main focus will be on the deteriorating state of 8216;8216;national security.8217;8217; The party has already declared that it will move an adjournment motion on the very first day of Parliament on the Mumbai blasts and follow that up with the NDA leadership8217;s favourite pasttime8212;a walk up Raisina Hill to submit the umpteenth memorandum to President Abdul Kalam in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The NDA government and its tough-talking home minister L K Advani had failed to prevent terrorist attacks on Parliament and other targets during their stint in power but that isn8217;t going to stop them from launching a blistering attack on the UPA for its 8216;8216;soft8217;8217; stance towards terrorism.

Party leaders have already slammed the government for repealing POTA and linked the spurt in terrorist attacks to the UPA8217;s alleged 8216;8216;minority-appeasement8217;8217; policies. Those charges are likely to reverberate more loudly inside the high-domed House.

Apart from 8216;8216;jehadi8217;8217; terrorism, Maoist violence8212;particularly in the backdrop of clashes between Naxalites and the state government-sponsored Salva Judum movement in Chhattisgarh8212;is also certain to figure in the discussions this session.

THE Left, too, will take up the issue of national security but from a different angle altogether. Commenting on the arrest of a computer analyst and head of the National Information Security Coordination Cell and the belated discovery that a senior RAW officer was spying for the CIA, the CPIM Politburo had earlier this month declared that 8216;8216;strategic partnership with the United States is facilitating strategic spying.8217;8217;

It also demanded a 8216;8216;comprehensive report in Parliament about the espionage and security breaches and the exact nature of the Indo-US security collaboration8217;8217;8212;a demand that will doubtless be raised vociferously in course of the Monsoon session.

The Left will also make a ruckus on the Indo-US nuclear deal. The Left8217;s stance is that if the US Congress can change the provisions of the original agreement to make it much more loaded against India8217;s long-term strategic and security interests, the Indian Parliament too should have a say in the future of the deal. In fact, the latest CPIM demand that all treaties with foreign government must be ratified by Parliament is likely to be raised as well.

SECURITY issues apart, MPs cutting across party lines will8212;as always8212;express concern and demand government redressal over certain issues that have become the staple of parliamentary discussions. These include agrarian distress, farmers8217; suicides, food security, price rise and corruption.

For the government, the most important piece of legislation this session will be the re-introduction and passage of the Parliament Prevention of Disqualification Amendment Bill, 20068212;better known as the Office of Profit bill8212;which the President returned to Parliament for 8216;8216;reconsideration8217;8217; soon after the Budget Session.

The BJP has declared that it will oppose the bill if it is brought in the same form, while the Congress and Left insist that no changes should be made to it. The government has to get the bill passed without seeming to disregard the President8217;s views.

Other pending bills of importance include the enabling legislation to allow 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in educational institutions, the Forest bill conferring land rights to tribals in forest areas, and the Communal Violence Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims bills.

With the government putting all disinvestment decisions on hold, major finance-related legislation such as the bill to allow foreign equity in private banks or the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill are unlikely to come up this session. Neither is the 33 per cent reservation for women bill that is periodically lifted out from cold storage and put right back for the last 10 years.