Govt, Opposition gear up for Monsoon session of Parliament

New Delhi: The Monsoon Session of Parliament gets underway on Wednesday. Both sides - the Government and the Opposition - seemed to have geared up for what is expected to be a stormy session.

A series of meetings were held on Tuesday in order to maintain calm and tranquility so that the smooth conduct of the businesses is ensured in both the Houses. The session with 18 working days will continue till August 10.

Six bills replacing ordinances promulgated in the inter-session period would be high on government's agenda. The presiding officers M Venkaiah Naidu in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan met party leaders separately and sought cooperation.

At an all party meet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the Opposition for a debate on all important issues and said: “If there is discussion in Parliament, the government will gain wisdom and will be in a position to reconsider some policies".

However, shortly after Prime Minister's appeal, the opposition leaders cited a range of contentious issues, including mob lynching and political developments in Jammu and Kashmir which they would raised to corner the government.

The government has listed a substantive legislative business for the session. This includes 48 items, including 46 Bills and two financial matters. The draft laws like The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill- commonly known as anti-instant Triple Talaq bill and The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, that gives Constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes will get top priority from the treasury bench.

Other Bills likely to come up are - The National Medical Commission Bill, The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, The Consumer Protection Bill, The Dam Safety Bill and Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill. (UNI)