Congress issues three-line whip to Rajya Sabha MPs ahead of Budget Session 2019

The Congress party on Thursday issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in Rajya Sabha, ordering them to be present in the parliament for the upcoming Budget session starting January 31, 2019.

Leader of Opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament, Ghulam Nabi Azad, wrote a letter to all his party's MPs, ordering them to attend each and every working day of RS with a number of important bills to be brought up.

"You are awared that the next session of the Parliament is scheduled to be held from 31st January 2019. This is going to be the last session before the Lok Sabha elections and Govt. will try to push through many important Bills and other Legislative Business without proper debates', the letter read.

In the previous session, ie the Winter session, a number of important bills were tabled in both the houses of the Parliament. While some managed to go through form both RS and LS, others failed to be passed from the Upper House, like the Triple Talaq (Amendment) Bill and the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

The government will make efforts to pass contentious bills on citizenship and triple talaq, even as stiff opposition to these proposed legislations has denied them the parliamentary approval so far. Some BJP allies like the JD(U) have also expressed their reservations to these bills. 

MASSIVE: Politically Critical CAG Report On Rafale Deal Likely To Be Tabled In Budget Session Of Parliament. Details Here

The government is keen on the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which seeks to grant persecuted minorities- including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians - from a few neighbouring countries Indian citizenship. 

The Citizenship Amendment Bill is stuck in the Rajya Sabha amid the Opposition demanding that the government drop Bangladesh from the list of nations from where the refugees would be eligible to apply for citizenship. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the Winter session. The Opposition in the Rajya Sabha has demanded that the Bill be sent to a select committee. 

The Opposition is also set to vehemently oppose any populist announcement by the government on the ground that it has no "right" to do so as its term is ending in a few months. 

(With inputs from PTI)

Catch Budget 2019 Live and Piyush Goel’s interim budget speech. Check this space for all the latest news, live updates and headlines from Union Budget 2019. Republic World brings to you the latest developments across all sectors of Union Budget 2019.