Winter session likely to begin from Dec 10

New Delhi, 13 November

The Narendra Modi government is considering whether to hold a truncated winter session of Parliament and subsequently a brief session in February to present its interim Budget, or go for a combined concluding session of the current Lok Sabha. Government sources said the winter session could begin on December 10 and end on December 23.

There is also a view in the government that it could follow the example of UPA 2, which in 2013-14 had combined the winter and budget sessions with a long recess in between. Usually, the official budget session, if a government has completed its full five-year term, is held after the convening of the new Lok Sabha. In 2013, the UPA 2 had held the concluding session of Parliament from December 5, 2013, to February 21, 2014, combining the winter and interim Budget sessions. The session began on December 5, with Parliament going into a long recess on December 19, and meeting again from February 5 to 21.

In 2008-09, the UPA 1 government had held two separate sessions in its final year. The 14th Lok Sabha had a brief winter session from December 10 to December 23, 2008, but the government classified it as the extended monsoon session. Subsequently, the government held a brief interim budget session from February 12, 2009 to February 26, 2009.

Tomar new parliamentary minister

The government on Tuesday appointed Narendra Singh Tomar as the successor to Ananth Kumar, who passed away on Monday, in parliamentary affairs ministry. D V Sadananda Gowda was given the additional charge of chemicals and fertilizers portfolio that Kumar was holding.