The forthcoming budget session of Parliament, scheduled to begin on 31 January, is set to be stormy with the Opposition parties gearing up to raise issues related to the economy, Jammu and Kashmir, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), among others.

However, Pralhad Joshi, Union parliamentary affairs minister, expressed hope in an interview that the budget session, like the previous few sessions, will continue to be productive and said the Union government will reach out to Opposition leaders to bring them on board.

“Even in the last two sessions... did they not try to disturb us? They did not try to disrupt?...I appealed to them that on any subject and any issue the government is ready to discuss. You can discuss. I only appeal to them to not to disrupt,” Joshi said when asked what the government’s plan is to ensure productivity in the budget session.

“I can say that in the last two sessions, we have tried to interact with all Opposition parties and many a times I have gone and met the Opposition leaders in their chambers. This time also we will do it,” he said. An all-party meeting could be called on 30 January ahead of the Parliament session, the minister said.

Congress spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member P.L. Punia said, “The Opposition has always been on board when it comes to discussion over legislations, whether or not they are passed entirely on merit of the bills. There has been a broad consensus that at least two separate discussions in five working days of a week should take place on issues of national importance and we are hopeful that this will continue in the next session as well.”

“We have extended support in the productivity of Parliament. We have never said that we will not let the House run. However, time has to be given for discussion of important issues,” Punia said.

However, the Opposition parties, led by the Congress, are expected to raise issues of national importance, such as the state of the economy, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370, the implementation of CAA and the NRC, as well as the updating of the National Population Register.

Two key Opposition-ruled states—Kerala, which is ruled by the Left Democratic Front, and Punjab, ruled by the Congress, have officially passed resolutions against the implementation of CAA. They have also joined several other states in approaching the Supreme Court over the issue. The top court is scheduled to hear the matter on 22 January, just days ahead of the budget session.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership is also under pressure from its allies such as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which wants Muslims to be made part of CAA, and the Janata Dal (United) led by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, which like SAD, does not support a pan-India NRC.

Joshi, however, said that the government’s position is clear that “there is no agenda to send anyone out”.

Anuja and Gyan Varma contributed to this story.