The second half of the Budget session of Parliament, beginning Monday, is all set to be a stormy affair with opposition parties closing ranks over the imposition of Presidents’ rule in Uttarakhand.
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The Government has lined up an elaborate legislative business for the two Houses – 13 bills for the Lok Sabha and 11 for the Rajya Sabha.
On government’s contention and that of the Speaker that a debate on Uttarakhand was not possible as the matter was sub-judice, Kharge said the chair was competent to allow a discussion setting aside the rules.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had yesterday held an all-party meeting to ensure smooth functioning of the Parliament.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy were among those who attended the meeting.
“Issues that are already in the Supreme Court or high court can not be discussed”.
Since February, the central government has dismissed Congress governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The new session of Parliament begins on April 25 since the budget session was prorogued last month to facilitate the promulgation of an ordinance to meet the financial requirements of Uttarakhand, where central rule was imposed on March 27.
The Narendra Modi government is eyeing passage of key legislation, including the Goods and Service Tax Bill and the National Waterway Transportation Bill during the session.
The notices given by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Leader of Congress in the House, Anand Sharma, seek to corner the government on the issue accusing it of “destabilising” a democratically-elected government in Uttarakhand.
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PM Modi said he hopes second part of the budget session of parliament is as productive as first. “BJP members have also given notices in the Lok Sabha for discussion over Ishrat Jahan encounter case to counter the Congress”. The Panama papers’ revelations and the current drought and drinking water scarcity situation in several states would surely figure during the session.
