Bills, scams to heat up Winter in Parliament

New Delhi, Nov 9: The winter session of the Parliament begins on Tuesday, Nov 9. While the Congress-led UPA is gearing up to introduce a slew of crucial bills including the Women's Reservation Bill and the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, the BJP-led Opposition is waiting to hound the government over a long-list of issues including the Maharashtra Adarsh housing scam, corruption at Commonwealth Games, 2G spectrum scam and internal security.

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Bills

The government is expected to bring up the following bills during the winter session -

- The Women"s Reservation Bill, officially the Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 2008, which seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

- Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 2010, which aims to rehabilitate and resettle those (especially tribal people) whose land has been acquired for mining activities.
The bill aims to bring in an amendment to the old Land Acquisition Act, 1894, so as to achieve a balance between the land acquired for development and the people whose land has been acquired; besides restating the objectives for the acquisition of land for public purposes and also by companies.

- Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation Amendment) Bill, 2008, which will enable the government to grant licences, reconnaissance permits or mining leases to areas containing coal or lignite through a competitive bidding by companies

- The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010, the purpose of which is to set standards for issuing licensed arms

Scams

Meanwhile, the Opposition hopes to mount pressure on the government over the Adarsh society housing scam, seeking the removal of the allegedly tainted Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.

The Parliament is also expected to be shaken by the cries against the corruption that marred the Commonwealth Games 2010, hosted in Delhi.

The alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum scam and Telecom Minister A Raja's involvement in it, besides issues of internal security and Maoism are also expected to crop up.

After a total of 24 sittings, the winter session will conclude on Dec 13, 2010.

OneIndia News