FOCUS ON TRIPLE TALAQ IN SESSION BEGINNING DEC 11
Parliament’s winter session, widely seen as the government’s best chance to push key bills including the Triple Talaq legislation, will be held from December 11 to next year’s January 8.
NEW DELHI: Parliament will hold its Winter Session, widely seen as the government’s best chance of pushing key bills including the legislation making instant triple talaq a punishable offence, from December 11 to January 8.
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) met on Tuesday night to recommend the schedule. The first day of the month-long session will coincide with the counting of votes cast in the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.
The last full session of Parliament before the next Lok Sabha polls will take place amid a raging debate on the Rafale jet fighter deal with France and an agrarian crisis the Opposition is expected to use to target the Narendra Modi government.
For the Centre, clearing two pieces of legislation, one seeking to disband the Medical Council of India and one making the practice of instant talaq by some Muslim men, declared illegal by the Supreme Court, an offence punishable with up to three years in prison will be the top priorities.
Among the other bills pending in the lower house are the The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018, the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2018, The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2018, and The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018.
Analysts believe that the results of the assembly elections, in which stakes are high for both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress party, may cast a shadow on the session.
When contacted, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel confirmed that the session would held from December 11 to January 8, and added it would have 20 working days.
“We seek support and cooperation of all parties for the smooth functioning of Parliament during the session,” he said.
This will also be the first session after the demise of parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar, who died on Monday after a long battle with cancer. Rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been given the additional charge of the ministry.
The opening day of the session is likely to be adjourned in both the Houses after obituary references to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Kumar.
According to a senior official, weeks before he passed away, Kumar had conveyed to senior functionaries that parties were keen to see the session being scheduled after the polling in state polls is completed. The last date of polling in the elections is December 7.