Budget session: Cong decides to work with like-minded parties; raise farmers issue, border dispute

Top Congress leaders on Friday decided to work closely with like-minded parties during the upcoming budget session of parliament and jointly raise matters of public importance, including farmers’ issues and border disputes with China.

This was decided at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Strategy group chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The meeting was held virtually and it was decided to raise the issues of farmers’ distress, a border dispute with China, and relief package for Covid victims.

The party has been demanding a compensation package for the families of Covid victims.

Congress also decided to raise the issue of the sale of Air India to Tata group, besides the downturn in the Indian economy and high prices of essential commodities.

The Congress Parliamentary Strategy group is chaired by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and includes Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, senior party leaders A K Antony, K C Venugopal, Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, K Suresh, Jairam Ramesh, and Manickam Tagore. Party MP Manish Tewari also attended the meeting.

Though former prime minister Manmohan Singh is also a member of the group, he did not attend the meeting.

The meeting is called before every parliament session to decide the party’s strategy.

The Budget Session of Parliament starts on January 31 with the president’s address to a joint sitting of both the houses. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1.