Winter Session of Parliament will begin on December 15, a day after Gujarat election is over and conclude on January 5 during which key bills on triple talaq and constitutional status to backward class commission will be taken up for consideration passage.
Announcing the dates for session recommended by Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) after its meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar sought cooperation of the Opposition to make the session meaningful.
"CCPA met under the chairmanship of Home Minister Rajnath Singh and proposed that we will have Winter Session from December 15 to January 5," Kumar said.
Rejecting Congress' allegation that the government has delayed the session to avoid facing tough questions on demonetization, GST, and unemployment issues before Gujarat polls for fear of being exposed, Kumar reminded that even earlier Winter Session have been delayed and begun even from January to avoid overlapping with polls many times, including during the rule of Congress prime ministers Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.
Replying to questions, Kumar said the issues of National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) and triple talaq are two very important issues.
"The country expects that the bills pertaining to these two issues will come to Parliament in this session. If that is the aspiration of the country, Government will have to respond to it," Kumar said.
The two issues will be discussed threadbare during the three week- long session.
Besides the regular bills, three bills to replace Ordinances — Goods & Services Tax (Compensation to States) Ordinance, 2017 (promulgated on 02.09.17), Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 and Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 — will also be brought up for consideration and passage in the House.
The 22-day-long session will have 14 working days. December 25, which falls on Monday and December 26 will be holiday on account of Christmas.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said that he was hopeful that all members of Parliament will attend the session on all the working days as key issues are to discussed and bills to be passed.
The announcement of Winter session dates comes days after a political row that saw top leaders from Government and Opposition trading barbs on each other.
The NCBC bill, which seeks to give a Constitutional status to the national body, which recommends reservations norms for backward classes is pending before Parliament. A select committee headed by BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav has already submitted its report to Parliament on the issue in Monsoon Session.
While the bill to grant Constitutional status to NCBC was passed in Lok Sabha without any amendment, the same could be passed in Rajya Sabha only after an amendment, dropping a clause of the bill as Opposition parties forced four amendments into it.
As the bill cannot be sent to the President for assent now because two different versions of the bills have been passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the bill may have to go to Lok Sabha again.
In wake of some recent controversial triple talaq incidents, the government is bringing a bill, seeking to make it a punishable offence as the practice has continued despite the Supreme Court order against it.
This could fail to relent the Opposition which has been alleging that the government wants to 'run away' from facing the heat on key issues during Gujarat polls, which end on December 14, a day before the session commences now. Congress sources said that they would raise the issue in Parliament.
BACK TO WORK
- The 22-day-long session will have 14 working days.
- The announcement of dates comes days after a political row that saw top leaders from Government and Opposition trading barbs on each other.
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