Ahead of the four-week winter session of Parliament starting Monday, the Opposition armed itself with issues ranging from the US indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani to the unrest in Manipur to counter the ruling NDA led by the BJP which is on a high after back-to-back electoral wins in Haryana and Maharashtra.

Leaders of the Government and the Opposition met Sunday to deliberate on the session and there appeared to be a perceptible change in mood in the two camps as compared to the last session. The BJP, which appeared dispirited after under-performing in the Lok Sabha elections, is in a triumphant mood after spearheading the landslide for the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra while the Opposition, despite the reversals, is hoping to regroup.

Floor leaders of Opposition parties will meet Monday morning to draw up a strategy for the session.

While Jharkhand saved the blushes for the Congress and its INDIA bloc partners, the mood in the Congress camp is far from cheerful. Nevertheless, sources in the Congress said the Opposition will seek discussions on the Adani saga and the Manipur unrest, issues it feels are the Government’s Achilles heel.

The Government, on the other hand, seems determined to push through the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which is under the consideration of a Joint Committee of Parliament. While Jagdambika Pal, chairman of the joint committee, has said that the panel’s report is ready, its Opposition members are seeking more time and plan to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Monday to seek extension of the committee’s tenure.

While constituting the committee, Parliament had given the panel time until the last day of the first week of the winter session to submit its report. The Government has already listed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill for consideration and passage in the winter session “after the report of the joint committee is presented to the Lok Sabha”.

After a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Union Minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha J P Nadda, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Government side said it had appealed to all the parties to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament.

On the Opposition’s demand for taking up the Adani issue, Rijiju told reporters after the meeting that the Business Advisory Committees of both the Houses will decide on matters to be discussed in Parliament with consent of the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Gaurav Gogoi, Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, said the party wants discussions on the Adani issue as well as the ethnic strife in Manipur. He said while the Chief Minister of Jharkhand was arrested, the Government still has confidence in the Chief Minister of Manipur despite bouts of ethnic violence.

The Congress also sought a discussion on the issue of rising pollution in north India and train accidents.

On the Adani issue, Pramod Tiwari, Congress Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, said, “It is said that over Rs 2,000 crore were allegedly paid by the company to politicians and bureaucrats to get favourable deals for its solar energy projects… It is a grave issue involving the country’s economic and security interests.” He was referring to the US indictment of Adani, charges which the Adani Group has rejected as baseless.

For the winter session, which is scheduled to last until December 20, the Government has listed 16 Bills including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

The agenda before the Houses include presentation, discussion and voting on the First Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2024-25; introduction, consideration and passage of the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill to enhance the pecuniary (defined as the monetary value of a case) appellate jurisdiction of Delhi district courts from the existing Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh; Merchant Shipping Bill that seeks to ensure compliance with India’s obligation under maritime treaties to which New Delhi is a party; the Coastal Shipping Bill; and the Indian Ports Bill.

As many as eight Bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, are pending in Lok Sabha. According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, two Bills are pending with Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha bulletin said an additional Bill, The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, passed by Lok Sabha is pending with the Upper House. There is no word on whether the Government will bring in a set of Bills to implement simultaneous elections in the country.