NEW DELHI: The second phase of the budget session of Parliament beginning on Wednesday is by all accounts expected to be a stormy affair with opposition BJP raring to put the UPA in the dock on a number of issues including Volcker controversy and its key outside supporters Left parties giving notice of being aggressive on foreign policy.
Being held in the backdrop of the assembly elections in five states, the two-week session is expected to witness the impact of the poll outcome.
The controversy over the OBC quota in elite educational institutions is also likely to figure prominently with the differences between Union Ministers Arjun Singh and Kapil Sibal and agitation by section of students making it a major issue.
RJD chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has even favoured a 5 per cent reservation for economically poor in upper caste while Congress and BJP trying to chart out a middle path out of what has come to be known as Mandal-II.
The BJP has put the government on notice on several issues, including the Volcker controversy and the statements of former Union Minister Natwar Singh as also on the killings of Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Left parties have warned they would be on offensive after the polls and have been agitating on several issues, including airport privatisation and FDI in retail.