Farmers Movement Archive

Parliament monsoon session: What to expect today

An action-packed Wednesday is expected in Parliament with several bills to be passed, protests and a meeting of Opposition parties with the President of India on the cards before the two Houses end the curtailed monsoon session.Representatives of Opposition parties plan to gather near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex at 12pm Wednesday—the same place where the eight suspended Opposition MPs protested overnight on Monday—to oppose the farm bills, the three labour codes and other policies of the Narendra Modi government.Also Read: New Parliament to cost Rs 971 crore, Centre informs ParliamentThey will, however, not go inside the Rajya Sabha, where the three labour codes—on occupational safety, industrial relations and on social security—are expected to sail through smoothly without any opposition. The Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Left parties had declared on Tuesday they will boycott the rest of the session in the Upper House over farm bills.Representatives of the Opposition will meet the President of India at 5pm Wednesday to urge him not to give his assent to the farm bills to turn them into laws.The Opposition had decided to oppose the three labour codes inside the House, but the quick passage of the farm bills coupled with the suspension of the eight MPs changed their plans.Also Read: Rajya Sabha holds crucial meeting as Opposition boycotts Parliament proceedingsThe monsoon session of Parliament is expected to end on Wednesday after another round of bills is cleared. The session had started on September 14 with a logistical overhaul due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including two separate shifts in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the MPs of one House sitting in the other House to maintain social distance, a new sit-and-speak order and restrictions on the entry of visitors.The Rajya Sabha will discuss passing five bills, including the labour codes, while the Lok Sabha, that will convene at 6pm to accommodate the sine die adjournment process in the Upper House, will discuss passing the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020, the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 and the Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020.The Upper House will also take up the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill and the Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020.

Hindustan Times

23-09-2020

India