Cong Wants PM to Prove “Pak Conspiracy” Allegation in Parliament
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The winter session of the Parliament, which kicked off today, is scheduled to end on 5 January 2018. The first day of the session in both houses has been adjourned till Monday, 18 December.
This winter session is the shortest in almost two decades. The Congress had earlier alleged that the ruling BJP delayed the session to keep the debates on the Rafale deal and allegations facing Amit Shah’s son from influencing the Gujarat elections.
Watch the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha here.
- Congress clarified that Sonia Gandhi will not be retiring from politics, but only as party president
- Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2:30 pm
- The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 18 December after obituary references
- 25 Bills are listed in the Lok Sabha and 39 Bills are pending in the Rajya Sabha
- The Congress and other opposition parties met on 14 December to discuss strategy
- “The government is ready to discuss and debate any issue,” the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ananth Kumar said
Rajya Sabha Adjourned Till 18 December
Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 11 am on Monday, 18 December.
Rajya Sabha Adjourned Again
Rajya Sabha adjourned for the second time till 2.30 pm after Leader of Opposition GN Azad raises the issue of PM Modi's allegations against former PM (Manmohan Singh) and other Congress leaders of conspiring with Pakistan during the Question Hour.
Outside the parliament, Azad said that he gave notice that the day's business be suspended, and PM Modi’s allegations against Congress leader of being involved in a conspiracy with Pakistan be discussed.
Congress Clarifies Sonia Not Retiring from Politics
Outside the Parliament, a day before Rahul Gandhi will formally be made the President of Congress, senior leader and former party president, Sonia Gandhi indicated to reporters that she may be retiring from politics.
But later Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala clarified that Sonia Gandhi will not be retiring from politics, but only as party president.
Rajya Sabha Adjourned
The issue of Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar's disqualification was raised in the Rajya Sabha, with slogans of 'Taanashahi nahin chalegi' raised by opposition, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said, “All in Well, not well”, and adjourned till 12 noon.
Modi Introduces New Cabinet Ministers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the newly inducted Cabinet Ministers, in Rajya Sabha. Earlier today, he introduced them in Lok Sabha.
These included Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman who were elevated as Cabinet ministers in the September 3 rejig of the council of ministers.
The new faces are ministers of state (independent charge) R K Singh, Hardeep Puri, K J Alphonse and ministers of state Shiv Pratap Shukla, Virendra Kumar, Ananth Hegde, Gajendra Shekhawat and Satyapal Singh.
Lok Sabha Adjourned
Making obituary references, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan informed members that three sitting Lok Sabha MPs — Sultan Ahmed (TMC), Chand Nath (BJP) and Tasleem Uddin (RJD) had passed away recently. Then the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 18 December after obituary references. The next session will commence on 11 am on Monday.
PM Modi Adresses Media Ahead of The Winter Session
Prime Minister Narendra Modi adressed the media upon his arrival for the parliament’s 2017-2018 winter session. The prime minister said he hopes for a fruitful parliamentary session that would benefit the country.
Modi also talked about the all-party meeting held in Delhi on 14 December, a day before the winter session saying that this parliament session should be held with a positive approach to move the country forward.
Modi Must Clarify Allegation of Link With Pak in Parl: Ghulam Nabi Azad
Ahead of the Parliament session, the Leader of Opposition, Ghulam Nabi Azad disapproved of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegations against Congress leaders of conspiring with Pakistan and sought a clarification from him in the Parliament. He told reporters:
Cabinet, NDA to Meet Today
Cabinet meeting to take place at 1 pm in the Parliament today. A meeting of NDA allies will be taking place at 4 pm.
Govt Ready to Discuss Issues: Ananth Kumar
The government is ready to discuss all the issues, including those to be raised by the Opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said on Thursday, 14 December, adding that he would request all the MPs to work "full time" to dispose of the business.
"The government is ready to discuss and debate any issue. Several issues would be raised by the opposition and the government would obviously give its response," he said when asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegations against his predecessor Manmohan Singh and others vis-a-vis their meeting with Pakistani diplomats would disrupt the Houses.
"It is also the opposition's responsibility to run Parliament. The Prime Minister has sought opposition's cooperation for smooth functioning of Parliament," he said.
Ananth Kumar said 25 Bills are listed in the Lok Sabha and 39 Bills are pending in the Rajya Sabha which would be taken up and disposed "according to priority".
Important Bills to Discuss
The most important business would be the Supplementary Demands for Grants, which is the first one after the implementation of GST; the 123rd Constitutional Amendment for setting up of National Commission for Backward Classes as a constitutional body; and the Bill against triple talaaq, he said.
Besides, the government would also bring Bills to turn three Ordinances into Acts, which include on the GST compensation to states and Amendments to the Indian Forest Act and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
Opposition Meet Ahead of Winter Session
The Congress and a number of opposition parties met on Thursday, 14 December, to formulate a joint strategy to corner the government on key issues during the Winter Session of Parliament starting on Friday, 15 December.
Leaders of a large number of opposition parties, including the Congress, NCP, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Samajwadi Party (SP), RJD, J-K National Conference and the Left parties met in the chamber of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and discussed key issues to be raised in Parliament.
Prominent among those who attended include NCP leader Tariq Anwar, TMC leader Derek O'Brien, NC's Farooq Abdullah, SP's Naresh Agrawal, RJD's Jaiprakash Narain Yadav, and CPI's D Raja.
The meeting comes ahead of the government's meeting with all the parties later in the day for a smooth conduct of the Winter Session of Parliament.
The opposition is seeking to corner the government on several issues during the session, which is scheduled to conclude on 5 January.
The Congress had alleged that the government is delaying the session due to the backlash that the BJP might face from the Opposition over the GST which could “expose the party ahead of the Gujarat elections.”
Shortest Winter Session Thanks to Gujarat Polls
This year’s winter session will begin on 15 December 2017 and end on 5 January 2018. As per the provisional calendar uploaded on the Lok Sabha website, there will be 14 sittings during the proposed winter session. Data available on the Rajya Sabha website indicates that 14 sittings is the lowest for any winter session, since 1999.
The winter session of Parliament is likely to be a curtailed affair as most MPs would be busy campaigning for the Gujarat assembly polls to be held in two phases in December.
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