First session of 15th Lok Sabha to begin on June 1

New Delhi, May 31: The first session of the 15th Lok Sabha will commence from Monday, Jun 1 with the formal swearing in of the 543 newly elected MPs. Two days have been earmarked for the procedure that will be followed by the election of the Lok Sabha speaker and the joint address to parliament by President Pratibha Patil.

Congress-led United Progressive Alliance is expected to election Meira Kumar as the new LS speaker according to the party sources. If elected, Meira Kumar, daughter of the late Jagjivan Ram, will be the first woman to preside over the Lok Sabha.

Earlier the full cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had met and finalised Jun 4 as the day for the President's address to the joint session of the Parliament. Pratibha Patil's address is expected to focus on PM's government's move to strengthen welfare schemes and boost the economy. The president's address, extensively worked on by Manmohan Singh himself, will unveil the government's agenda for the year in tune with the policies and programmes of the Congress party and its allies.

There will be a debate June 5, 8 and 9 on the president's address after which the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will pass a motion of thanks before adjourning. The annual budget session of the Indian Parliament is likely to begin in the first week of Jul.

OneIndia News