In in the latest instance of its continued face-off with the central government, ahead of the crucial Telangana Assembly elections later this year, the ruling BRS has decided to boycott the customary address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint session of Parliament on Day one of the Budget session, which gets underway on Tuesday.
Confirming the same to ANI, a BRS source said, "The BRS and AAP will boycott the Presidential Address to the joint session of Parliament as a mark of protest against the NDA government's failure on all fronts of governance."
Asked why they chose to the skip address of the President, who holds the highest constitutional post in the country, BRS Lok Sabha MP Ranjith Reddy said there are good enough reasons to boycott the address.
"Even the Governor of Telangana is a constitutional authority but you see what she has been doing. That is a good enough reason for us to boycott (the President's address)," Reddy said.
It was further learnt from sources that the BRS also tried to convince other Opposition parties to boycott Tuesday's address.
"Our party will do what is important, which is to be the voice of the people of Telangana and raise their issues. We are also hopeful of receiving support of other Opposition parties," the TRS MP said.
The BJP-led central government and the BRS regime in Telangana have been at odds for a while, with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao skipping several meetings chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Budget session of Parliament, beginning Tuesday, is expected to be stormy with the Opposition parties seeking to raise several issues, including the falling stocks of the Adani Group in the light of a report by a research firm and the BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Centre, for its part, has said it was ready to discuss and debate all issues raised by the Opposition.
The session will begin with a joint address to the two Houses by President Murmu. The Economic Survey will also be presented in Parliament on Tuesday while the Union Budget will be presented on February 1, Wednesday. The Budget session will take place in two parts, with the first part concluding on February 13. The second part will be held from March 13 and will conclude on April 6.
The government convened an all-party meeting ahead of the Budget session, on Monday, during which the Opposition parties raised several issues of 'concern'.
The government will also push its legislative agenda in the Budget session. According to government records, 26 Bills are currently pending in the Rajya Sabha and 9 in the Lok Sabha.
Amongst the 26 Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha, three have already been passed by Lok Sabha -- the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The bills which haven't been referred to any parliamentary scrutiny and are pending passage include the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, 2012, the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, 2013, the Delhi Rent (Repeal) Bill, 2013, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
( With inputs from ANI )
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