All eyes will be on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will deliver a rare, twin speech in Parliament on Thursday to conclude the debate on the President’s speech.
Modi’s speech assumes significance in the wake of the ongoing protests against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in Delhi and elsewhere. The widespread public protests have also turned into a major plank for the warring political parties to attack each other.
If the Prime Minister talks about the citizenship-related issues, this would be the first time that he will speak about CAA-NRC in Parliament. So far, the PM has addressed these raging issues and attacked the opposition for fuelling protests in his public rallies and during the election campaign in Delhi.
The debate on the President’s speech — the first debate in a calendar year in Parliament — also veered extensively on the citizenship act, a month after it was passed by both Houses of Parliament in December.
This will also be an opportunity for the Prime Minister to reach out to the voters of the Delhi assembly elections as the campaign for the same ends on Thursday.
On Friday, Modi will travel to Assam’s Kokrajhar to attend a programme.
The Prime Minister will address the Lok Sabha before he speaks in the Upper House on Thursday.
The BJP had fielded its two-time member of Parliament and son of late Sahib Singh Verma, Parvesh Verma, to initiate the debate in the Lok Sabha on February 3 amid furious protests by the opposition.
Both Houses are also slated to take up the discussion on the general budget after the Prime Minister’s speech.
The Budget Session of Parliament is spread between two halves.
The first half is unlikely to see the passage of any bill as the two marathon debates — on President’s address and budget — will hardly leave any time for consideration and passage of bills.
