CCPA to meet tomorrow to decide Monsoon session dates

New Delhi, Jun 28: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, will meet tomorrow to decide the schedule of the Monsoon session, which is expected to start in the third week of July.

The session comes at a time when the ruling BJP's morale is high after its maiden victory in Assam Assembly polls and its performance in Kerala and West Bengal elections. The session is also taking place a month after the Modi government completed two years in power, saying that the country is changing under the dispensation.

There are indications that the session will start on July 18 and continue till August 13 but a final decision on the dates will be taken tomorrow. 45 bills are pending in Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha has 5 bills pending before it.

The bills pending in Rajya Sabha include the contentious Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-second Amendment) Bill, 2014, known as the GST Bill, which was moved in the Upper House in August last year after being passed by Lok Sabha.

The government is hopeful of the passage of the GST bill in this session amid indications that a number of regional parties have broken ranks with Congress on the issue and are willing to extend their support to this crucial economic reform measure.

Another key bill is the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which was moved in December last year but the discussion on it had remained inconclusive. In the Budget session this year, this bill could not be taken up.

In Lok Sabha, important bills pending include the Consumer Protection Bill 2015 and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015.

The government will also push for clearing a bill, which seeks to replace an Ordinance to amend the Enemy Property Act as well as a bill to replace the Ordinance on the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The last few sessions of Parliament have seen sparrings even though the second part of the Budget session recorded a relative improvement as far the completion of government business was concerned. But the problem of pending bills is not limited to the two years of the NDA government.

PTI