Opposition parties in RS want discussion on External Affairs, Commerce, Rural Development Ministries

Leaders from various opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha have demanded that a discussion on the working of the External Affairs, Rural Development and Commerce Ministries be taken during the ongoing Budget session, sources said on Friday.

Leaders from various opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha have demanded that a discussion on the working of the External Affairs, Rural Development and Commerce Ministries be taken during the ongoing Budget session, sources said on Friday. According to a source, the demand was made at a meeting of the business advisory committee of the Rajya Sabha held on Thursday, as the Upper House takes up discussions on the working of ministries after recess in the Budget Session. Parliament will reconvene on March 9 after the recess. The government has, however, suggested that the working of the Rural Development and Environment Ministries should be discussed. The source said those who demanded the debate on Commerce and External Affairs Ministries include leaders of opposition parties Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Kerala Congress, besides Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress Party -- which are part of neither the ruling alliance, nor the opposition. ''All the leaders were of the view that the External Affairs and Commerce Ministries have not been discussed in over a decade, so a discussion on these should be taken up,'' the source said. The opposition has been targeting the government over the India-US interim trade agreement and New Delhi's handling of foreign relations. Detailed scrutiny of ministries is done in the Budget session of Parliament, where the Rajya Sabha discusses 'working' of the ministries, while the Lok Sabha exercises its financial oversight through examination and voting on Demands for Grants, where each ministry's proposed expenditure for the coming financial year is debated and put to vote.

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