The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on Monday. This is the first Parliament session of the 17th Lok Sabha, after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance won a clear majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in May.
The Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha will comprise 30 sittings spread over 40 days, NDTV reported. The Rajya Sabha will sit 27 times over a span of 37 days.
The Narendra Modi-led government will attempt to pass several bills during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The most controversial is likely to be the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, which proposes to do away with the practice of triple talaq and provides for severe penalties in case of default. The Congress has decided to oppose the bill, but the Janata Dal (United), an ally of the BJP, has also signalled its opposition. The Centre had on June 12 approved an ordinance for the bill after the previous one lapsed on June 3.
The Centre will also introduce the The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, based on the amendments in the ordinance President Ram Nath Kovind had promulgated on March 2. The amendments are in line with a Supreme Court judgement on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar last year. Last year, the Supreme Court had struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which had made the use of Aadhaar mandatory for availing various services.
The government had also approved the extension of President’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir for six months from a period starting July 2. This too, will have to be ratified by Parliament.
The passage of these legislation is likely to be fairly smooth in the Lok Sabha, where the BJP now enjoys a majority of 303 out of the 542 seats for which polls were held in April and May. However, the party is still at a numerical disadvantage in the Rajya Sabha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held three meetings – an all-party meet, a BJP Parliamentary Party meet and a meeting of the NDA – on Sunday. After the all-party meeting, Modi thanked all the leaders for “their valuable suggestions”.
“We, the NDA family look forward to fulfilling the dreams of 130 crore Indians, who have reposed unparalleled faith in our alliance,” he said following the NDA meeting.
On June 19, Modi has invited presidents of all parties who have representatives in either house to discuss the matter of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
The Budget session of Parliament will be held on July 5, where the Union Budget will be presented by new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The previous day, the Economic Survey for 2018-’19 is likely to be published.
The Monsoon Session will end on July 26.
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