At least 16 bills including the one to amend the Waqf Act are on the agenda of the Narendra Modi government for the Winter Session of Parliament beginning Monday. The session will last till December 20 and have 19 sittings.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is being examined by the joint parliamentary committee. The panel is scheduled to submit its report in this session. Opposition members have sought an extension to the panel for submitting its report.
Here are 10 points to know before the Winter Session kicks in:-
1. Apart from the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, five bills are listed for introduction and passing in both houses of parliament. The five new bills include Merchant Shipping Bill, Coastal Shipping Bill, Indian Ports Bill, Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill and Rashtriya Sahkari Vishwavidalaya Bill, ANI reported.
2. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s ally Telugu Desam Party said it wants the Waqf Bill to take care of the interests of the Muslims and the community should feel that its views have been accommodated. “We want to make sure that Muslim community should feel that they, their views have been accommodated in the passing of this bill. We want their opinions and, more importantly, their interests should be taken care of,” TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, also a member of the JPC, said.
3. The upcoming session is expected to witness a heated showdown as the opposition is planning to raise the Manipur issue and the US indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani.
4. Ahead of the commencement of the Winter Session of Parliament on Monday, floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties will hold a meeting in Parliament House to decide the strategy of opposition, ANI reported.
5. Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju convened a meeting with the floor leaders of political parties in both the upper and lower houses of Parliament on Sunday.
6. During the meeting with Rijiju, the opposition parties asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the US prosecutors’ bribery charges against the Adani Group. The minister made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by authorised committees with the consent of the Chair, PTI reported.
7. After the meeting, parliamentary affairs minister Rijiju said that the government has appealed to all the parties to ensure smooth conduct of business in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
8. During the meeting, Congress’ Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, dubbed the Adani issue as a scam, saying the government should not reject or ignore their demand on any “technicality” as it concerns Indian institutions and investors.
9. The Congress deputy leader also raised the Manipur issue, saying the government “jailed the Jharkhand chief minister (Hemant Soren) and made changes in Jammu and Kashmir for a variety of reasons, but kept its faith in Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh despite his alleged involvement in violence.”
10. A Rajya Sabha bulletin said an additional bill — The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak — passed by the Lok Sabha is pending with the Upper House, PTI reported.
(With ANI, PTI inputs)