As Indian Parliament Session Opens, Much Work to Be Done

European Pressphoto Agency Parliament House reflected in a car mirror, in this Dec. 22, 2011, photo.

India’s parliament starts a new session on Thursday with a massive agenda.

President Pranab Mukherjee began the session with a soaring address that emphasized the responsibility laid on lawmakers in a joint session in the central hall. “As I speak to you, I am aware that an aspirational India is emerging, an India that demands more opportunities, greater choices, better infrastructure, and enhanced safety and security,” Mr. Mukherjee said.

“Amidst these aspirations, we are also burdened by gathering anxieties about economic slowdown, ob security and employment prospects,” he said. “I hope this session will be productive and useful”.

Several long-pending issues and some new legislation are expected to be introduced, debated and voted on this session. India’s parliament has been frequently disrupted in recent sessions over contentious political issues, leaving a huge backlog of legislation that many consider crucial to India’s development. Some analysts have even attributed India’s recent economic slowdown in part to Parliament’s inability to pass legislation.

“Parliament is a forum for discussion, for dialogue, and all parties have an obligation to ensure that parliament runs smoothly,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told journalists Wednesday, after an all-party meeting convened by the speaker of the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament, in New Delhi.

The coming session will sit for 34 days, from Feb. 21 to May 10, with a month’s recess from March 22, Kamal Nath! , the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, said Tuesday. In total, 71 items are scheduled to be discussed, including 55 pieces of new and pending legislation, 13 financial issues and 5 others, he said.

Important new bills to be introduced include a constitutional amendment related to the boundary between India and Bangladesh, an agricultural bio-security bill, which addresses the use of genetically-modified seeds, and a building and construction workers bill which addresses their welfare. .

Several anti-corruption bills are also pending, including the “Lokpal Bill”, which would set up an Ombusdman to monitor corruption in government, the “Citizens Services and Grievance Redressal Bill,” and a “Prevention of Bribery to Foreign Public Officials Bill.”

“The government is not hesitating to discuss any item, and possibly arrive at a consensus,” Mr. Nath said Tuesday. “We have lots of important business at hand.”

Members of Parliament “have to come to Parliament to paricipate in debates and not to scuttle the Parliament,” he said.

Already, there appear to be several issues that could derail the upcoming session.

. The issue of price rise, slowing down of economic growth, rising crime against women will be raised in the parliament.

Allegations of bribery in a helicopter deal with Finmeccanica may also derail the Parliament.