Starting July 29, U.P. Monsoon session likely to be stormy
SP, Cong set to attack govt over public issues; oppn will be in aggressive mode, says LoP Mata Prasad Pandey
The Monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly beginning Monday is likely to be stormy as buoyed by its good show in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the opposition— the Samajwadi Party and the Congress alliance—has decided to attack the ruling BJP-led government on public issues.
This will be the first session of the assembly after the Lok Sabha polls. After appointment as the Leader of Opposition on Sunday, Mata Prasad Pandey made it clear that the opposition will be in an aggressive mode against the state government on the floor of the house.
“We will raise the issues of exploitation of farmers, problems faced by the common people due to flood, corruption in the administration, unemployment, increase in the prices of the edible items, deterioration in law and order, irregular power supply and degradation in health services,” Pandey said.
“People in Uttar Pradesh are a harassed lot and the BJP government has to reply to the questions raised by the opposition and provide relief to the common people,” he added. On Sunday morning, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav held a meeting with party MLAs in the state unit office to discuss the strategy to nail the state government on the floor of the of the house over the public issues.
The MLAs were briefed about the issues they will raise in the house. “The BJP government has failed on all fronts and the people have expressed their anguish over the working of the government in Lok Sabha election,” said the SP chief.
Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra Mona said, “The Monsoon session will be held for a short period whereas the state government has planned to table the first supplementary budget for 2024-25 in the state legislature. We have raised the issue in the all party meetings held under the chairmanship of assembly speaker Satish Mahana.”
“The Congress held a meeting with the alliance partner SP to discuss the issues that will be raised in the house. The farmers are facing crisis as some districts are in the grip of flood and others are facing drought due to scarce rainfall,” she said.
“The state government should provide relief to the farmers with compensating the crop losses. In several districts the normal life of the people have been hit due to erratic power supply. The law and order has deteriorated in Uttar Pradesh,” she added.
The opposition is also likely to ‘corner’ the state government over the rumblings in the BJP about the below par performance in the Lok Sabha election.
BSP chief Mayawati in a post on X said, “The Monsoon session of the UP assembly is starting from Monday in which the government will also present the supplementary budget. Although this session will be brief, it would be better if the ongoing tussle and internal fighting in the BJP does not dominate the house and instead works are carried out in the interest of the people and the state.”
Lakhs of families affected by the devastation caused by floods in Uttar Pradesh are in urgent need of government help. The government’s indifferent attitude towards them is worrisome. Instead of displacing people in the name of encroachment, the government should focus on improving the lives of people suffering from poverty, unemployment, inflation and deteriorating law and order,” she added.
In the all-party meeting held on Sunday evening, UP assembly speaker Satish Mahana requested leaders of various political parties for cooperation in conducting the session smoothly.
He asked them to put forward their views in the house with decency, follow the parliamentary decorum and debate in a friendly environment. He said there should be meaningful discussions between the ruling party and the opposition in the House. This is the largest assembly in the country and its proceedings also present an ideal for the other assemblies, he said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who was in Delhi to attend the BJP chief ministers’ conclave, could not attend the meeting. Parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Kumar Khanna attended the meeting in place of the CM. Earlier, in the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, discussions were held regarding the works to be taken up in the sub-sessions of the assembly.