NEWDELHI: The Budget session of Parliament is set to commence on Friday with the government listing 16 draft legislations for consideration, including a Bill to regulate immigration and another to amend the Waqf Act of 1995.
The principal highlight of the session will be the presentation of the Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the record eighth time on February 1. The session is expected to be a stormy affair with the Opposition all set to take on the government over Maha Kumbh stampede deaths and the Waqf Amendment Bill.
The two-part session from January 31 to February 13 and then from March 10 to April 4 will start with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to a joint sitting of both Houses on Friday. After her address, the Economic Survey will be tabled by Sitharaman. Later part of the session will be devoted to a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply. On the legislative side, the ruling BJP is all set to push legislation on one of its major electoral planks — illegal immigration. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill 2025 has been listed among 16 legislative agendas.
Although the contours of the Bill are unclear, it appears intended to regulate the entry of immigrants into India and could be framed as an overarching law on the subject currently governed by multiple legislations The Foreigners Act 1946, The Passport Entry into India Act 1920, and the Registration of Foreigners Act 1939. The Bill, though listed for consideration, can only be taken up once the Union Cabinet approves it. The Cabinet is yet to take up this draft legislation for approval.
Illegal immigration of Bangladeshi people has been a huge election issue for the BJP in eastern states, mainly West Bengal and Jharkhand. Even in Delhi, the BJP has been demanding weeding out of alleged illegal immigrants, including Rohingyas, from the electoral rolls with the ruling AAP accusing it of altering the voter lists.
Another Bill on the government’s legislative priority is the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, which seeks to amend the 1995 law regulating Waqf properties in India. It was reviewed by a joint parliamentary committee which has made changes to the original draft law introduced in Parliament last year. JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal submitted the final report of the panel to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday, a day after several opposition MPs gave dissent notes to the same.
Another hallmark of the session would be Sitharaman presenting her eighth consecutive Budget. On February 1, 2024, she had set a record by becoming the second FM to present a sixth straight Budget in a row five annual and one interim a feat achieved till then only by former PM Morarji Desai. With her February 1 Budget this time, Nirmala will inch closer to Desai’s record of 10 consecutive Budget presentations.
Meanwhile, at an all-party meeting convened by the government on Thursday, the Opposition flagged gaps in arrangements which led to 30 killings in the Maha Kumbh stampede on Wednesday. The Congress-led Opposition accused the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh of prioritising VIP protocols over common citizens and politicisation of a religious festival.