In parliament, TMC to take on Centre over inflation, employment, Adani

Trinamool Congress (TMC) will raise issues like the exposure of public entities in the embattled Adani Group firms, unemployment, and rising prices of essential commodities during the second leg of the budget session of parliament.

Opposition parties have been demanding the government to come clean on the investment of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and the State Bank of India (SBI) in billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate since it was hit by a damning report by a US-based short seller.

Mamata Banerjee-led party will also press its demand for the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha for passage. In 2010, the Bill which provides a 33 per cent quota to women in the Lok Sabha as well as in state assemblies was cleared by the Rajya Sabha. However, it could never be taken up in the Lok Sabha.

TMC’s strategy on the floor of the house was decided at a meeting chaired by party supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“Other than these issues, TMC MPs will also raise the misuse of central agencies against identified targets and holding back funds in parliament,” a senior TMC leader told The New Indian.

Trinamool Congress, the third largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha, did not participate in an Opposition meeting called by the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on the first day of the second part of the session on Monday.

No senior TMC leader has offered any explanation for their absence from the meeting which was attended by 16 parties.

In early March, eight key Opposition parties jointly wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi complaining about the Centre’s “blatant misuse of central agencies” in what was seen as a symbol of Opposition unity. However, Congress was missing from the list of signatories.