Congress to Raise Inflation, COVID & Fuel Price Hike in Parl's Monsoon Session

Their agenda includes the situation along the LAC in Ladakh, unemployment caused by COVID-19, and the Rafale deal.

The Congress has decided to raise the issues of inflation, fuel price hike, COVID mismanagement, and the border issue in the upcoming Monsoon session of the Parliament.

The party strategy group for Parliament, chaired by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, met on Wednesday evening via video conferencing and decided on a six-point agenda to take on the government, reported news agency ANI.

Their agenda includes situations along the LAC in Ladakh, unemployment caused by COVID-19, and the Rafale deal.

Coordination with other Opposition parties has been entrusted to Rajya Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge as the party wants a joint Opposition strategy in the house to corner the government, IANS reported.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Congress leader P Chidambaram had said: "Congress party will raise the issue of high inflation in the forthcoming session of Parliament and demand a full discussion on the subject as well as substantial relief for the people of India."

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge were among those who attended the meeting on Thursday.

Meanwhile, top BJP leaders and Union ministers, including party President JP Nadda, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, held a meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss matters related to the monsoon session and frame the party's strategy to counter the opposition. The meeting was held at Union minister Rajnath Singh's residence.

Since the pandemic began, three sessions of Parliament – Budget, monsoon and winter – were curtailed and the winter session last year had to be cancelled. Last year, the monsoon session, which usually starts in July, had begun in September.

This year's monsoon session comes after a devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, with daily cases having peaked at more than four lakh and deaths at more than 4,000. The wave was marked by a crippling shortage of hospital beds, medical oxygen, and essential medicines.