NEW DELHI: The winter session of the Parliament will begin on Friday. The Opposition is expected to target the NDA on NPAs of banks, demonetisation, the Doklam standoff, agrarian stress and impropriety in the Rafale deal. The Congress will also demand an apology from the Prime Minister for alleging former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Pakistani officials to influence the outcome of the Gujarat elections.
The session, which is set to commence more than a month after its schedule, will end on January 5, 2018.
This session of the Parliament will have 14 sittings.
The agenda for legislation includes 25 pending Bills for consideration and passing while 14 new Bills are listed for introduction, consideration and passing.
Some of the important bills on the table include:
OBC Commission Bill
The Goods & Services Tax (Compensation to States) Ordinance, 2017
Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill
Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017
Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017
Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016
Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016
Delhi Special Provisions Bill
Road Safety Bill
The government is readying key legislations for passage, which include the OBC Commission Bill, which had been passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Bill is likely to be taken up by the Lok Sabha, with the ruling NDA gearing up to reject all amendments introduced in the legislation by the Rajya Sabha. Once the Lok Sabha rejects the amendment, the government will seek a better floor coordination to get the numbers to pass the legislative proposal in the Upper House.
Issues like the Muslim Womens Rights on Marriage Bill related to triple talaq are among the important bills, which will be tabled for discussion and passage.
Besides Delhi Special Provisions Bill, which protects unauthorised constructions in the national capital from demolition, the government is also keen to get the Parliamentary nod for the Road Safety Bill, which is currently before a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha. The Select Committee is likely to submit its report next week.
The government will also be looking to introduce a bill to set up National Medical Council in place of Medical Council of India.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the Supplementary Demand for Grants and three ordinances including GST compensation to states will also be a prominent issue of discussion.
On the first day, the Lok Sabha will be adjourned for the day after paying tribute to its sitting and former members who passed away after the Monsoon Session.
The Centre was recently targetted by the Opposition for delaying the winter session allegedly in the wake of Gujarat Assembly Elections.
Congress outgoing president Sonia Gandhi slammed the Centre, saying it was sabotaging the Winter Session of Parliament on flimsy grounds.
The ruling NDA and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan convened all party meetings on Thursday. The government is reaching out to Opposition parties to ensure that the short session of Parliament functions smoothly.
(With inputs from Online desk and ANI)