Parl session likely from July 12 for MPs to vote in Prez election
The government has tentatively planned a month-long Monsoon Session of Parliament from July 12 to August 11 to enable all MPs to be in the Capital for voting in the Presidential election on July 17 and for the Vice-President’s election in the first week of August.
The only hitch in holding the session from July 12 is the pre-occupation of the Lok Sabha secretary-general in the Presidential election as the returning officer. The issue will be sorted out by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar by holding consultations with Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, sources said.
Parliament may not sit on the two days of polling in the elections to let the MPs cast their votes as also on July 25 when the new President takes the oath.
The MPs of both the Houses as also the MLAs of all the Assemblies vote in the Presidential election while only the MPs of the two Houses vote in the Vice-President’s election.
The Election Commission is kicking off the Presidential election on Wednesday by issuing a notification inviting nominations over the next two weeks up to June 28.
It is also expected to call for the election of the Vice-President through another notification in early July, scheduling the polling in the first week of August.
The Session may be a stormy affair as the Opposition is likely to rake up the issue of farmer protests across the country and the government’s decision to ban the sale of cattle for the purpose of slaughter.
The government would also seek Parliament's nod for the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 which has given the central bank more firepower in the fight against stressed loans in the banking system, estimated at close to Rs 10 trillion rupees.
The Budget Session, which ended on April 12 turned out to be the most productive in the recent times with 18 bills having been passed by bothHouses.