BJP cautious before Budget Session

An otherwise confident BJP establishment seems to be taking all precautions to not let the Budget Session get washed out like the last one. While the PM humbly requested the Opposition to support the Triple Talaq Bill on Monday, a meeting of the floor leaders of NDA constituents was called too.

NDA is under pressure from allies who have been complaining of "highhandedness". While longtime ally and ideologically proximate Shiv Sena has already parted ways, declaring it would go sans BJP to 2019 elections, TDP chief and Andhra chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu too had threatened to exit the alliance on Saturday. Sena had quipped that it was BJP's modus operandi to "backstab"allies.

However, in a reassuring move for the BJP, the resolution adopted by the NDA floor leaders Monday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "outstanding" speech at WEF Summit at Davos, his "bold initiatuve" of inviting all ASEAN heads of states to be India's guests at the 69th Republic Day parade as well as for bringing global recognition to the country by being the first Indian PM to address the opening plenary.

Modi also asked NDA leaders to works towards creating a positive environment in favour of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Modi said leaders could start debating the matter, a source said. The PM maintained that a continuous cycle of elections across the country harmed developmental works due to enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, besides imposing a huge cost on the exchequer.

A party leader said the prime minister also credited women Cabinet ministers, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, for the two events.

The NDA meeting was preceded by a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party executive in which Modi and party president Amit Shah stressed on the need for maximum presence of party MPs in Parliament to support the government agenda during the Budget Session.

Absenteeism of a section of MPs during sessions has been cause concern for the party leadership. The government is keen on the passage of contentious triple talaq bill and also the OBC legislation, which envisages constitutional status for the OBC commission, in the session.

"Prime Minister's presence not only was an acknowledgement of India's growing strategic profile in the world but also provided a platform to share our vision about India's future engagement with the international community," the resolution said.

The meeting congratulated PM Modi "for his outstanding address at WEF Summit at Davos and his unprecedented initiative to invite all 10 ASEAN heads of states and governments to be our honoured guests for the Republic Day Parade on 26 January this year."

Underlining the global recognition implied in the PM's opening speech, the meet said, "Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was the first Prime Minister to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos in twenty years and he was the first ever Indian Prime Minister to be invited to speak at the Opening Plenary of the World Economic Forum which is a premier forum for deliberations on vital global issues."

Congratulating the PM for "his leadership on the successful outcome of his participation at the World Economic Forum and ASEAN India Commemorative Summit," the floor leaders also called PM's invite to ASEAN leaders a "bold initiative".

"In our history, it was a historic occasion that all ten ASEAN leaders not only attended the Summit but participated at the Republic Day ceremony. It is a testimony to Prime Minister's leadership and his vision that we had a successful event in all respects."