W. Bengal assembly: Issues for the winter session that may see a ruckus

The crucial winter session of the West Bengal Assembly will start today, 25 November (Monday). Following debates between the treasury and Opposition benches on several issues, the overall ambience during the session is likely to be quite stormy.

However, on the first day, the House will be adjourned after the mandatory “obituary mentions” and the full-fledged debates on the issue will start on Tuesday, 26 November. The winter session will continue till 10 December, barring the Saturdays and Sundays in between, and there will be no proceedings in the House on 6 December as the Trinamool Congress has decided to observe Babri Mosque Demolition Day on that date.

The first contentious issue that is likely to make the ambience within the House quite stormy will be a motion to be moved by the treasury bench opposing the Union government’s Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. As per the information available thus far, Trinamool Congress legislators will condemn said bill as an infringement on state rights and a threat to minority communities.

The Opposition BJP legislators will oppose that motion and heated discussions between the Treasury and Opposition Benches on this issue are quite likely. However, the exact date when the motion will be placed is yet to be decided.

Another motion that the treasury bench is slated to move during the winter session will be one condemning the role of the Union government in the release of funds to the state government under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme.

Insiders from the state unit of the BJP in West Bengal said that once the resolution is moved, their legislators will counter the arguments of the treasury bench and highlight instances of alleged public grievance in different pockets of the state over corruption in implementation of the housing scheme.

The oath ceremony of six legislators elected in the by-polls earlier this month is also scheduled for the winter session of the assembly.

Another issue on which the winter session of the assembly is expected to debate is the fallout from the ghastly rape and murder of a junior female doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in August 2024. The point of contention is likely to be the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill, the new legislation proposed for enforcing capital punishment for convicts in rape and rape–murder cases. Though passed on the floor of the House in September, it is still pending clearance from the office of President Murmu.