Monsoon session to begin on August 5

The UPA government will convene the much-awaited monsoon session of Parliament from August 5 to 30, where the approval of the Houses to the food security ordinance will be the top priority.

The UPA government will convene the much-awaited monsoon session of Parliament from August 5 to 30, where the approval of the Houses to the food security ordinance will be the top priority.

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The chance of the food bill’s passage — which has been recently enacted through an ordinance — brightened on Monday as the 22 Lok Sabha MP-strong JD(U) has announced its support for the bill. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said at Patna, "We will support the UPA government on the food security bill."

HT was the first to report that the monsoon session will be pushed back to August.

Top sources in the government told HT on Monday that along with the food ordinance, the Centre is keen to pass some key reforms bills like the insurance act amendments and pension fund (PFRDA). “Prime Minister and finance minister are particularly keen to see that these bills are passed as they can give a strong message to the investors,” said a senior Congress leader. The long-pending land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement bill is also high on the government’s agenda for the session.

Apart from the food ordinance, the government is also mulling changes in the RTI Act to keep the political parties out of its ambit. “And the law doesn’t allow you to do something indirectly which cannot be done directly and that’s why we have said very respectfully that the CIC’s order is misconceived and fails on the fundamental appreciation of the law,” I&B minister Manish Tewari said.