Winter Session to begin today, Opposition to corner government on intolerance row

New Delhi: The Winter Session of Parliament will begin on Thursday with an emboldened Opposition raring to take on the Centre on the issue of intolerance and make it difficult for the Narendra Modi government to get crucial Bills passed.

But before the stormy session commences and government takes up any legislative business, the first two days will be dedicated to the anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution also known as Constitution Day.

The leaders will pay tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar, architect of the Indian Constitution, including a special session of Parliament with no zero hour on Thursday and Friday.

The events have political significance too as ruling the Bharatiya Janata Party is working overtime to woo Dalits, a politically crucial constituency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also greeted the nation on the occasion of first Constitution Day. "Greetings to the people of India on the historic occasion of 1st Constitution Day. May this day inspire you to know more about our Constitution. This day is a tribute to all those great women & men who worked tirelessly to give India a Constitution we are very proud of," Modi tweeted.

The government has planned a heavy legislative agenda for the month-long session, including the key reform measure Goods and Service Tax, which commences on November 26 and concludes on December 23.

The BJP continues to face the quota quagmire as it lacks the required numbers in the Rajya Sabha to push pending legislation including the Land Bill, Real Estate Bill and the GST bill.

The Opposition is likely to press for a resolution to condemn the alleged rise in intolerance, a demand unlikely to be conceded by the government which instead prefers a debate, seeking to project incidents like Dadri lynching as law and order issues pertaining to states.

Setting the tone, Modi appealed to the Opposition for cooperation as he made a strong pitch for early passage of the GST bill at the all party-meet convened by Naidu, saying it will be in the interest of the nation.

He told the Opposition leaders that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will hold discussions with them on their concerns. Congress, on the other side, said it was open for discussions on GST bill on which it has "very genuine concerns".

The last session of Parliament had seen a virtual washout of the proceedings in the wake of the Congress demand for the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the Lalit Modi controversy and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan in the Vyapam scam.