Parliament Monsoon Session Begins Today: NDA Govt, Oppn Likely to Lock Horns Over NEET…

The Monsoon Session of Parliament will get underway on Monday, with the united opposition set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case and the row over the Kanwar Yatra directives in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday (July 23). The Monsoon Session, under the Narendra Modi-led NDA government that came to power for the third consecutive time, will have 19 sittings till August 12.

Here is all you need to know:

• The NDA government and the opposition parties are expected to go head-to-head on raging issues like the ongoing probe into alleged paper leak cases linked to the NEET-UG 2024. The opposition has demanded that the all-India medical entrance examination should be conducted afresh. The Supreme Court will resume hearing several petitions about the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the test on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad. The pleas are seeking cancellation, retest and a court-monitored probe into the allegations of malpractice in the prestigious exam.
• Another contentious issue that is likely to be discussed is the directives for Kanwar Yatra in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which mandate that all eateries on the route for the pilgrimage must display owners’ names. This has been called “anti-Muslim” and “discriminatory” by the opposition.