Government extends monsoon session of Parliament till August 7
After rounds of deliberation, the government has decided to extend the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament till August 7, considering a plethora of pending bills in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The said session, which is also the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha commenced on June 17, and was slated to conclude on July 26. Here's more on this.
Previously, reports indicated government's plan to extend the session
Previously, following discussions in BJP Parliamentary meetings, reports suggested that the government is planning to extend the session by 10 working days. Notably, on Wednesday, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said, "This (extension) is not discussed in the Cabinet but... I don't think the Opposition will object because they say it (Parliament) should be held for 100 days (per year)."
16 bills in RS, 10 in LS are pending
The extension has been implemented by the government keeping in mind a pile of pending bills in both the Upper and Lower house. A total of 16 bills in the Rajya Sabha, and 10 bills in Lok Sabha stand pending. Moreover, these bills include the controversial Triple Talaq Bill and the instrumental Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, among others.
Meanwhile, the Triple Talaq Bill has been passed in LS
Earlier today, amid a heated debate, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tabled the crucial Triple Talaq Bill in Lok Sabha. While the government opined that the bill favored "gender justice", Opposition parties opposed it and cited that its purpose is to "penalize Muslim men." However, later in the day, the Bill got passed with 303 MPs voting in favor of it.
Important bills passed during this session
Meanwhile, the government has passed many instrumental bills in the Parliament during the current (monsoon) session. These include Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill (passed yesterday) and the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, among others.
