Cong to oppose delimitation bill, raise NEET, Ram temple issues

THe united states congress on th said it would do “every elbow grease to defend the unity and solidarity of all Opposition parties” and strongly oppose Constitution amendment bills related to delimitation and removal of ministers and chief ministers, if taken up during the upcoming Parliament session, while cornering the government over the Ram Mandir donation theft, NEET papers leak and the ethanol blending among other issues.The largest Opposition party’s attempt to keep the flock together comes amid mounting political challenges and shrinking space due to the recent spate of defection among regional parties. The Opposition unity will also face a critical test as the government plans to bring a number of bills vehemently opposed by the INDIA bloc parties.“We will be raising critical issues in this session - including the massive theft at the Ram Temple, the fiascos in the NEET and CBSE examinations, the E20 scandal that is destroying cars and bikes all over India, and other pressing concerns of the common Indian citizen,” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said in a post on X after a strategy meeting of the party’s parliamentary unit on Thursday.“There is widespread anger among the people. We will continue to be the voice of that anger on the floor of Parliament come 20 July,” Venugopal added.Briefing the media, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh announced, “We will also make every effort to maintain the unity and solidarity of all Opposition parties.”Ramesh said that the party is bracing for a set of controversial Constitution amendment bills and other legislations.“We have learnt that the Union home minister is making efforts to bring back the Delimitation Bill (during the Monsoon Session of Parliament). The government failed to secure a two-thirds majority on 17th April and suffered a significant setback on the legislation. It now wants to reintroduce the Bill,” he added.“The proposed Constitution Amendment Bill on the removal of minis, for which a Joint Parliamentary Committee has been constituted and which the Opposition parties have boycotted, was also discussed during meeting today. The Congress Party has consistently maintained that it will strongly oppose the Delimitation Bill and will continue to do so. We will also make every effort to maintain the unity and solidarity of all Opposition parties,” Ramesh said.The Congress also announced it would “ firmly oppose” a set of key bills including the proposed Constitution Amendment Bill related to the removal of judges, the legislation to set up a new higher education regulator, amendments to the food security and FCRA laws.“As far as the legislative agenda is concerned, I do not see any Bill before us that we can support,” the Congress leader said, hardening the party’s position.The Opposition has also taken a calibrated stand to pick issues that involve public interest or people’s concerns. While it would try to counter the BJP and RSS over the Ram Mandir donation theft, calling it “the scandal orchestrated by the BJP and RSS in Ayodhya”, the party has picked the NEET papers leak and the alleged “E20 scam” and said in a press conference that it implicates several senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and their sons.“We will certainly demand a discussion on this. There are other issues as well, particularly concerning foreign policy and the new challenges that have arisen. These include our relations with China and the US, as well as the deteriorating situation in West Asia observed over the last month or two...” said Ramesh.The monsoon session, scheduled from July 20 to August 13, ia set to test the Opposition’s unity after 20 TMC MPs and six Sena (UBT) lawmakers have decided to switch over to the NDA. The Opposition, which successfully stalled the Constitution amendment bill related to Delimitation in May, has to heavily depend on Samajwadi Party (SP) and its estranged ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to thwart any similar moves from the government.Congress leader Nasser Hussain, who also attended the strategy meeting, told HT, “The Opposition, not the INDIA bloc, will meet on July 20 morning to decide on the floor strategy.” His statement indicates that the Congress is keeping the doors wide open for DMK and AAP to be a part of the larger Opposition plan for the upcoming session.Ramesh also hit out at the BJP and Union home minister Amit Shah for engineering defection in the Opposition.“We had already expressed concern that this party was formed three years ago in Howrah. The Nationalist Citizens Party of India. No one knew about it. It is an unrecognised party, and suddenly it has become the second-largest constituent of the NDA. The TDP has fallen from second place to third, and the JDU has moved from third to fourth. Suddenly, they got 20 seats, 20 MPs, because it was a parking space.”