The Congress has demanded a discussion on the US indictment of the Adanis during Parliament’s winter session that begins on Monday, signalling to the government that the back-to-back electoral heartbreaks in Haryana and Maharashtra would not silence the party.

Congress MPs made the demand at an all-party meeting the government had convened on Sunday ahead of the winter session, which will see the BJP return to Parliament invigorated by the two Assembly poll victories after the setback in the general election.

The BJP’s retention of power in Haryana and Maharashtra with larger seat hauls will undoubtedly shift the dynamic in both Houses of Parliament, and subsequently impact the Rajya Sabha numbers when the biennial elections to the Upper House are held in Haryana and Maharashtra.

Deeply conscious of this, the Congress has since Saturday evening been insisting that the defeats will not prompt the party to abandon its agenda. Its MPs articulated this at the all-party meeting.

Besides the US bribery charges against Adani, the Congress wants a discussion on Manipur and the spillover effect it is having on neighbouring states. The party sees these two as issues on which the Narendra Modi government remains on the back foot despite its election victories.

The Lok Sabha will see Priyanka Gandhi Vadra enter the chamber as Wayanad MP in place of her brother and leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who vacated the seat after also winning from Rae Bareli in the general election.

With the waqf amendment bill among the 16 bills listed as part of this session’s legislative business, several Opposition parties urged the government not to rush with it as the joint parliamentary committee (JPC)scrutinising the draft legislation is divided.

While joint parliamentary committee chairman Jagdambika Pal has claimed within the committee that the draft report will be circulated soon, Opposition members are seeking an extension of the panel’s time to complete the report from the current deadline of the first week of the winter session.

Trinamul — a vociferous opponent of the bill at the committee’s sittings — was not present at Sunday’s all-party meeting.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O’Brien, who usually represent the party at such deliberations, are apparently coming to Delhi for the session only on Tuesday as both have to attend Trinamul’s national working committee meeting in Calcutta on Monday.

The BJD, as always, remained focused on state issues. The topics issues by its Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra included a discussion on special category status for Odisha and the revision of the coal royalty, which has not been done in a decade.

The Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) — an NDA constituent — wanted a special relief package for people affected by the September Bihar floods, and a discussion on reservations in lateral appointments to the government.