Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chaired a meeting of all floor leaders of the Lower House on July 16 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament that is slated to begin on July 18. The Opposition has demanded a discussion on the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, unemployment and farmers' issues.
Several Opposition parties, including TMC, BJD, Shiv Sena, TDP, Akali Dal, CPI(M),CPI, RSP and JMM, skipped the meeting. TMC said that such pre-session meetings are a sham because the agreement they reach in the meeting is not implemented in the House.
"We have demanded that discussion should be held on Agnipath, unemployment and issues related to farmers and sufficient time be given to the Opposition to raise these issues in the House," Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting.
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Announcing Trinamool’s decision, Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’ Brien tweeted, “Union govt never allow a discussion on any ‘people centric’ issue in #Parliament They run scared making a mockery of #ParliamentaryDemocracy. Pre-session all party meetings now a sham. PM photo-op where Govt says ‘we are willing to discus any subject’ but end up ignoring Opposition.”
Trinamool will skip the meeting chaired by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu scheduled for July 17 evening but will attend the all-party meeting to be chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the same day.
The government has listed 24 Bills including the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill for introduction. It seeks to strengthen the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code by introducing provisions on cross-border insolvency and certain other amendments for a time-bound resolution of stressed assets while maximising their value.
Family Courts (Amendment) and Indian Antarctic Bills are listed to be taken up in Lok Sabha on July 18, while the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill is listed for consideration and passing on the same day in Rajya Sabha.
The Trafficking of Persons (Protection, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill which seeks to prevent and combat trafficking of persons, especially women and children, as well as to provide care to the victims while respecting their rights, and ensure prosecution of offenders is also listed. This Bill has been in the works since 2018.
Amit Shah-led Co-operatives Ministry is also tabling the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill seeking to rationalise the government's role in cooperatives and increase participation in the working of the multi-State cooperative societies, so as to increase public faith in these societies and create a conducive environment for their growth.
The government has also listed the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to rationalise the prohibited areas and bring in other amendments.
Some of the other Bills listed for introduction are — the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, the Development of Enterprises and Services Hubs Bill, which proposes to revise the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Bill, the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill and the Competition (Amendment) Bill.
The Kalakshetra Foundation (Amendment) Bill, the Old Grant (Regulation) Bill, the Forest (Conservation) (Amendment) Bill, the National Dental Commission Bill, the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, the Indian Institute of Management (Amendment) Bill and the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill have also been listed for introduction.
The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, the Trafficking of Persons (Protection, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill and the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill are also to be introduced during the session.
Two separate Bills for Constitutional amendments to revise the list of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu are also to be introduced.
