Parliament Session may be extended for August 9

Parliament Session may be extended

The current session of the Parliament may be extended by two days if the business of the government is not disposed of till August 7, when both Houses are slated to be adjourned sine die.

Parliament Session may be extended
Parliament House

At the BJP’s parliamentary meeting on Tuesday, a senior minister indicated the government’s intent to ensure the passage of key legislation listed in the current session itself even if the House has to be called for “a few more days”.

If the parliament session extended by August 9 it may help the modi government to pass the necessary bill in the current extended session.

Apart from the general budget, the government also sought to get legislative clearance for statutes that were long-pending for the want of a majority in the Rajya Sabha. This includes a bill to criminalize instant triple talaq, which was passed by the Upper House on Tuesday.

“Not enough time was given to us to even issue whip on the Triple Talaq Bill,” said Anand Sharma, Congress deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, when asked about the five Congress MPs who were not present during voting on the legislation on Tuesday.

The opposition’s motion to send the Triple Talaq Bill to a select committee of Parliament for a larger discussion with stakeholders was defeated in the Upper House.

The government managed to muster numbers through abstentions and walkouts by some allies as well as some opposition parties.

The current session, which was to end on July 27, has already been extended by two weeks, while the Opposition has accused the government of rushing through bills.

The government till last weekend had introduced more than two dozen bills in the Parliament, a record of sorts for the Budget and first session of Lok Sabha in the last 15 years. Despite not having a majority of its own in the other House, it has been able to get the parliamentary nod on most of this legislation.