New Delhi, February 13 Leaders from various opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha have demanded that a discussion on the functioning of the Ministry of External Affairs, Rural Development, and Commerce be held during the ongoing Budget session, sources said on Friday.
According to a source, the demand was made at a meeting of the business advisory committee of the Rajya Sabha held on Thursday, as the Upper House takes up discussions on the functioning of ministries after a break in the Budget Session.
Parliament will reconvene on March 9 after the break.
The government has, however, suggested that the functioning of the Ministry of Rural Development and Environment should be discussed.
The source said that the leaders who demanded a debate on the Ministry of Commerce and External Affairs include leaders from opposition parties such as the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Kerala Congress, as well as the Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress Party – which are not part of either the ruling alliance or the opposition.
"All the leaders were of the view that the Ministry of External Affairs and Commerce have not been discussed in over a decade, so a discussion on these should be taken up," the source said.
The opposition has been targeting the government over the India-US interim trade agreement and New Delhi's handling of foreign relations.
Detailed scrutiny of ministries is done in the Budget session of Parliament, where the Rajya Sabha discusses the 'functioning' of the ministries, while the Lok Sabha exercises its financial oversight through examination and voting on Demands for Grants, where each ministry's proposed expenditure for the coming financial year is debated and put to vote.
