As the President summoned the Winter session of Parliament for November 15 on Monday, the Opposition BJP gave notices for a discussion on the Indo-US nuclear deal under rules 184 and 193. While rule 184 warrants voting, rule 193 entails just a discussion.

BJP parliamentary party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra told The Indian Express that they have demanded the Government obtain a sense of the House through a vote on the n-deal. Similar notices would be given in the Rajya Sabha too, Malhotra added. The BJP has a stake in debates in both the Houses. In the Lok Sabha, the BJP game plan is to expose the Left through voting. As for the Rajya Sabha, the party has a high concentration of its vocal leaders in the House.

The party had planned holding a strategy session on the matter on Monday, but it was deferred due to non-availability of some senior leaders, including party President Rajnath Singh. This internal BJP exercise will be followed by a meeting of NDA leaders. However, senior NDA leaders like L K Advani and Sharad Yadav have already made it clear that they would allow a discussion on the issue. Nor are they insisting upon the constitution of a joint parliamentary committee to examine the deal.

CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia told The Indian Express that his party would give a notice on the nuclear deal on Tuesday for a discussion under rule 193.

Malhotra said the BJP has given notices for a discussion on the implementation of the Rajinder Sachar committee report too. The BJP, according to him, would prefer a discussion followed by voting. The BJP also plans to rake up the issue of “minority appeasement” by the UPA regime. “We see it as a sinister design to divide the country on religious lines again.” Apart from these the BJP has also plans to take up the issue of “naxalism” and the related larger issue of national security. The two other issues on which the BJP has sought debates under rule 193 are suicides by farmers and the price rise.