With 40 bills waiting to be discussed and passed, the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is all set to face a "hectic but smooth" session even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indicated it would raise issues "more aggressively but effectively" against the government.

The Congress, which has returned to power after eight long years, has said it is ready to discuss any issue as long as the opposition gives a proper notice.

"We are very serious about this session as we have a very heavy legislative business to finish. The government is ready to discuss any issue raised by the opposition, provided they give proper notices," Suresh Pachauri, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, told IANS. "The session should be smooth."

There are at least two issues the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in parliament is expected to raise in a major way.

One relates to the arrest on Nov 11 of Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu and the re-induction into the cabinet of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren. Soren had to resign in July after he was named in a 10-year-old case of mass murder.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), voted out in May, had then vociferously demanded that ministers facing criminal charges should not serve as ministers.

The budget session of parliament had to be adjourned prematurely because of repeated disruptions.

The opposition, however, has assured Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee that it would ensure smooth proceedings now.

"We will raise issues like inflation, suicides by farmers, internal security issues, India-Pakistan talks and the situation in the northeast, apart from issues of tainted ministers and the Shankaracharya's arrest," BJP leader V.K. Malhotra told IANS.

"Last time, the government gave the excuse that the opposition had disrupted its process of good governance. So this time we will not let them run away with that excuse," Malhotra said.

Among the bills slated for introduction are those relating to Lok Pal, or an ombudsman, anti-terrorist law, patents and public health emergency. An ordinance to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) has already been promulgated.

Eleven bills will replace the ordinances promulgated during the inter-session period.

The Patent Amendment Bill is likely to get the priority because according to the WTO agreement, Jan 1, 2005, is the deadline for making India Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) compliant.

A bill to replace the ordinance for the setting up of a national commission on minorities' educational institutions is also listed in the agenda. 

The commission is meant to look into complaints about the violation of rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Seven finance-related bills, including Banking Regulation (Amendment), Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, Securities Laws (Amendment) Bill, Pension Fund Regulatory Bill, are slated for the upcoming session.

The 17-day session may also discuss the controversial constitution amendment aimed at providing 33 percent reservation for women in parliament and state assemblies. The bill had lapsed twice in the past due to protests from various parties.

--Indo-Asian News Service