We have the numbers that are needed, says PM on Budget Session

New Delhi:  The Budget Session began today with an address by the President. And as the government gets ready to face a belligerent Opposition, the Prime Minister told reporters that his government has the numbers that are needed to push through important legislation. When asked about the stress of managing a coalition greatly enervated by the recent state elections, he said that "the pressure is part of the job." He's certainly to feel enough of it; the talk of a Third Front building between leaders like Odisha's Naveen Patnaik and Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party has been escalating, with speculation that Mamata Banerjee will move toward it. Ms Banerjee has 19 MPs, making her essential to the survival of the UPA in its current form. Lately, she has shown a restlessness with the government and its policies that suggests she may be searching for an exit. Though the Samajwadi Party could then help save the government, its young leader Akhilesh Yadav today said that though he is focussed on UP, where he will take over as chief minister later this week, "if a Third Front is formed, it will be good."
The Budget Session is expected to be a gruelling one for the government.  It comes less than a week after the Congress was whiplashed in states like UP and Punjab. On Wednesday, the government will present the Railway Budget; on Friday, it will share the Union Budget. The Opposition, sensing the government's weakness, is likely to be at its aggressive best. More worrying for the government is how to ensure its allies, especially Ms Banerjee, don't challenge the government on key policy. But with its house in disorder, the government is unlikely to push for any big-ticket reforms. So, for example, the permission for more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail, recently suspended after Ms Banerjee's fierce criticism, will remain in limbo. Ms Banerjee has 19 MPs, making her essential to the survival of the UPA in its current form. New laws and policies for mining and land acquisition are also likely to remain untouched.
A major flashpoint for Ms Banerjee, who is the second-largest member of the UPA after the Congress, is the design of the National Counter Terrorism Centre or NCTC. The new hub, meant to coordinate security needs and arrangements, has infuriated state governments because they find it encroaches upon their turf. The NCTC has powers that over-ride their right to handle law and order, say ten chief ministers, including Ms Banerjee, all of them from non-Congress states.
To help resolve the issues, Home Secretary RK Singh is meeting today with senior police officers and bureaucrats from all states to share the centre's vision and to collect feedback from states. The NCTC, meant to be operational on March 1, has been delayed after Ms Banerjee led the Group of 10 that sent letters to the PM, sharing their objections.
Ms Banerjee gave the Congress a sleepless weekend. Her party first said she would attend the swearing in of the new governments in Punjab and UP.  Then, as the Congress issued a strict warning against allies crossing the "laxman rekha" by being unnecessarily supportive of non-UPA parties, Ms Banerjee's party members said she would stay in Bengal but would send representatives to the ceremonies.

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