The Congress and its allies are all set to disrupt proceedings in the Lok Sabha on Monday over price rise and the continuous hike in prices of petrol, diesel and LPG.
The floor strategy of the principal Opposition party emerged after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi virtually met the party’s MPs on Sunday evening.
Ms. Gandhi is said to have flagged the issue of effective coordination with other Opposition parties to formulate a common strategy on the floor of the House.
Consensus
“We have been told there would be disruptions tomorrow [Monday] as there has been consensus among other Opposition parties about price rise,” said one MP.
On June 14, the parliamentary strategy group had identified a number of issues to corner the Narendra Modi government. They include the devastating second wave, pace of vaccination and preparation for a possible third wave, the economic situation and growing unemployment, restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and border hostilities with China in Eastern Ladakh.
Ahead of the monsoon session, Ms. Gandhi has also recast the parliamentary team for both the Houses.
While Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury continues to be the leader with Gaurav Gogoi as his deputy, Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari have been part of the team.
The inclusion of Mr. Tharoor and Mr. Tewari is signoficant as both belong to the group of 23 dissenters (G-23) who had demanded a complete revamp of the party’s functioning in a letter to Ms. Gandhi.
In the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge is the leader of the group while Anand Sharma is his deputy. Jairam Ramesh (chief whip), Ambika Soni, P. Chidambaram, Digvijaya Singh and KC Venugopal are the other members.
“These groups will meet daily during the session and can meet during the inter-session period as well where Parliament issues are concerned,” read a July 15 internal memo of Sonia Gandhi, who heads the Congress Parliamentary Group.