E-Paper
MPs discuss proposal to end winter session of Parliament on December 23
A week after the winter session of Parliament started, senior leaders across parties have informally discussed a proposal to end the session before Christmas, with many lawmakers citing festivities and the demand for their presence in respective constituencies during Christmas and New Year.
A week after the winter session of Parliament started, senior leaders across parties have informally discussed a proposal to end the session before Christmas, with many lawmakers citing festivities and the demand for their presence in respective constituencies during Christmas and New Year to press for an early closure.
On Monday, in a meeting chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Opposition veterans such as Congress floor leader Adhir Chowdhury, TR Baalu of the DMK, Trinamool’s floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay and BJD’s Lok Sabha leader Pinaki Mishra urged the government and the Speaker to end the ongoing session on December 23.
Also Read | Congress posts old video of BJP MP's Lok Sabha speech warning ‘repeat of Doklam’
The winter schedule of Parliament is from December 7 to 29.
According to three leaders present in the meeting, there was a detailed discussion on the demand of adjourning the House on 23. “Chowdhury, Baalu, Bandopadhyay and Mishra explained why it would be better to adjourn the House on December 23,” said one of the three, who asked not to be named.
A second leader, who too asked not to be named, added that “the MPs cited the festivities and the need for them to be present in their constituencies. The Opposition leaders also argued that if the session is adjourned before Christmas, it would send a right message to the Christian community.”
Also Read | Lok Sabha reshuffles MPs’ seating plan
The second leader added that Birla informally mentioned that many MPs too have requested him to end the session early but that it is not in his hand to take that decision. “He suggested that if the government decides to curtail the session, then the budget session can be extended by 4-5 days. The Opposition leaders supported Birla’s idea,” said the second leader.
Parliamentary minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister of state Arjun Ram Meghwal were present too, the three leaders said, adding that they couldn’t give any assurance as the current schedule was decided by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
The onset of the pandemic in early 2020 disrupted the budget session of Parliament, which ended on March 23 , 2000 instead of the scheduled April 3. Thereafter all six sessions that have been held, have been adjourned before the scheduled time due to various reasons including elections and the request of MPs.
In the ongoing session, the government has introduced five of the 16 new bills planned. Four bills, which were passed by one House in the previous session, have been cleared by the other House thus far in this winter schedule.
