Today in Politics: Parliament in session; Budget sessions in several states

On Monday, amidst the delimitation row that is already seeing the two at loggerheads, the ongoing war of words between the ruling BJP and DMK led to disruptions in the Lok Sabha.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also forced to withdraw a word from his remarks following protests by Tamil Nadu MPs.

During the face-off in Question Hour, Pradhan accused the DMK government in Tamil Nadu of being “dishonest” and playing “politics” with the future of the state’s students. While criticising the DMK government’s opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP), he also accused it of doing a “U-turn” over PM-SHRI schools, bringing DMK MPs to their feet.

Soon after the exchange in Parliament, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin put out a post on social media accusing Pradhan of “arrogance”. “Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who speaks with arrogance as if he were a king, needs to watch his words!” Stalin wrote. “You are withholding Tamil Nadu’s rightful funds and deceiving us, yet you call Tamil Nadu MPs uncivilised?… Does Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi approve of this?”

The Tamil Nadu government had never agreed to implement the PM-SHRI (Schools for Rising India) Scheme, unlike what Pradhan said, Stalin wrote. Referring to a letter written by Pradhan in 2024, he said: “Wasn’t it you who wrote to me confirming that the Tamil Nadu government had completely rejected NEP, the three-language policy, and the PM SHRI MoU?”

But, as the issue escalates, many in the BJP fear it may just be what the DMK wants ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, even as the BJP itself takes a hit. Tamil Nadu is high on the BJP’s agenda, with its efforts to make inroads meeting some success in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.

State Assembly sessions

Various Assemblies of different state governments are currently in session.

On Tuesday, the BJP in Bengal will raise the issue of alleged attacks on Hindu places of worship in the state’s Assembly.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari told reporters, “Our MLAs will bring an adjournment motion in the House on March 11 regarding attacks on Hindu religious places in different parts of Bengal in recent times.”

Later, he led 30 BJP MLAs who were holding placards that displayed purported images of broken idols and damaged walls with Baruipur in South 24 Parganas, Tamluk in Purba Medinipur, and Patikabari in Murshidabad inscribed at the bottom.

From rising revenue expenditure and debt stock to negligible increase in capital expenditure, Finance Minister Ajit Pawar presented Maharashtra Budget 2025 worth Rs 7 lakh crore on Monday.

However, the Budget not only refrained from declaring any new significant scheme but also stayed silent on fulfilling several of the promises that the ruling alliance had made in its manifesto during the Assembly elections in 2024, such as enhancing the monthly outgo for Ladki Bahin Yojana and farm loan waiver among others.

The Madhya Pradesh Budget Session began on Monday with the address of Governor Mangubhai Patel, who highlighted the state government’s steps for farmers, youth and women as well as river linking initiatives.

Patel said the BJP government in the state would provide 30 lakh solar pumps to farmers in the next three years and give them permanent electricity connections at Rs 5.

In her Assam Budget speech on Monday, Finance Minister Ajanta Neog had announced the expansion of existing state government financial assistance schemes such as Orunodoi, which primarily targets women as its core beneficiaries; Nijut Moina, which is for girl students from higher secondary to the post-graduate level; and Atma Nirbhar Asom Abhijan, which aids aspiring entrepreneurs; as well as new financial assistance programmes.

With elections in Assam slated for next year, the Opposition will take on the Himanta Sarma-led government and the schemes it has rolled out.

Sukhbir Badal vs brother-in-law Bikram Majithia

What had long been whispered in the corridors of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the country’s oldest regional party, came out in the open over the weekend after Bikram Singh Majithia openly revolted against his brother-in-law and former party president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Majithia publicly criticised the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) decision to sack the Jathedars of the Akal Takht and Kesgarh Sahib, two of the five sacred “takhts” or seats of Sikhism.

It is no secret that the Akali Dal controls the SGPC and, by extension, the Jathedars. The move came three months after the Jathedars awarded a religious punishment to Badal and other Cabinet members of the Akali government that was in power from 2007 to 2018, including Majithia, and revoked the highest honour, Fakhr-e-Qaum, from his late father and five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

In an unprecedented public inquisition, the three Jathedars — including Giani Harpreet Singh who was removed as the head priest of Takht Damdama Sahib last month — held Badal responsible for multiple failings, including his alleged inability to stop the incidents of sacrilege and the controversial pardon granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim. They also declared him unfit to lead the Sikh community (panth). The Jathedars further directed the party to accept Badal’s resignation and set up a seven-member panel to begin rebuilding the party. In the public show of atonement that followed, Badal sat on guard duty outside the Golden Temple, during which a former militant fired at him, while Majithia cleaned toilets at an inn near the Golden Temple.

Majithia’s statement condemning the removal of the two high priests and co-signed by five others, including MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, marks the first time he has openly taken a stand against Sukhbir. Ayali is one of the two Akali MLAs at present along with Majithia’s wife Ganieve Kaur.

With PTI inputs