Winter session likely from mid-November

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) on Wednesday met at defence minister Rajnath Singh’s residence to discuss the possible schedule for Parliament’s winter session.

There was no official word on the date for the session’s commencement. But officials aware of developments said that it is likely to begin in the third week of November and conclude before Christmas.

An official involved in the process said that the CCPA would brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the outcome of Wednesday’s meeting before the dates for the session are made public.

The winter session would commence in the backdrop of the opposition’s criticism of the government’s handling of the economy as India stares at an economic slowdown.

The government has announced tax reduction and taken other steps to boost exports as part of efforts to deal with the situation.

But the opposition has been critical of the government’s policies related to areas like agriculture, and banking.

It has maintained that the adverse impact of 2016 move to ban high-value notes is visible amid a big slump in sales of cars etc.

The opposition and the government are also expected to lock horns over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in the aftermath of the r evocation of the region’s special status.

Union home minister Amit Shah and other functionaries of the government have emphasised that J&K will benefit in the long term.

Many opposition parties have slammed the lockdown and communication blackout imposed in the region ahead of the revocation.

On Monday, post-paid mobile phone services were restored even as internet services are still blocked.

The Opposition is all set to demand a debate on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which left out nearly 2 million people in Assam in September as part of an exercise to check illegal immigration from Bangladesh.

The government is likely to introduce the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to ensure that non-Muslims left out of the NRC get a chance to become Indian citizens.

It may also bring another major labour reform bill on industrial relations.

During the previous Parlament session, the government was able to clear as many as 28 bills.

AN OFFICIAL SAID THAT THE CCPA WOULD BRIEF THE PRIME MINISTER ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF MEETING BEFORE THE DATES FOR THE SESSION ARE MADE PUBLIC