Rajya Sabha to reconvene on May 10

New Delhi, Apr 6 (UNI) The Budget Session of the Rajya Sabha, which was abruptly truncated after the Upper House was adjourned sine die on March 22, will be reconvened on May 10.

A statement from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat today said the sittings of the House would continue till May 23 for transaction of government business and other bills.

''There will be Private Members' Business on Friday, the 12th May (Bills), and Friday, the 19th May (Resolutions),'' the statement said.

There would also be Question Hour during the reconvened part of the Session, it added.

The Lok Sabha has also been reconvened during this period, primarily with the objective of enacting a law on office of profit that has already scalped the Lok Sabha membership of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the Rahya Sabha membership of Samjwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan, Dr Karan Singh (Congress) and Dr Kapila Vatsyayan (Nominated).

The UPA government has been trying to enlist the support of parties across the political spectrum for forging a broad consensus on the controversial 'office of profit' issue and save over 50 other MPs from a possible disqualification on account of their holding offices with pecuniary benefits.

Main opposition BJP has however reiterated that it will not extend 'blind support' to the Centre on the issue of defining the office of profit but wants the government to express its views in the form of a letter, if not an actual draft, to amend the provision of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act.

''The BJP does not view holding an office of profit as a 'crime' but the latest turn of events certainly require the political parties to address the grey area,'' BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad had recently said.

''We understand the government is hesitating to circulate the draft amendment but at the same time the consultation process will not be appropriate without the people in authority spelling out their mind in the form of a letter if not in the draft,'' Mr Prasad said.

UNI SKS SB DS1605