‘Ensure Smooth Functioning of Parliament’: Rijiju Calls on All Parties Ahead of Winter Session

Last Update:24 November 2024 15:08 IST

The ruling party leaders met with the chairmen of the political parties ahead of the start of the Winter session on Monday.

Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju | File Image/PTI

Amid opposition demands to discuss bribery charges against Adani group, the government on Sunday said business advisory committees of both Houses will decide on issues to be discussed in the Winter session and appealed to parties to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament.

The ruling party leaders met with the chairmen of the political parties ahead of the start of the Winter session on Monday.

After the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters that the government has appealed to all parties to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament.

Responding to a question on the opposition’s demand to take up the Adani issue, he said the respective Business Advisory Committees of the Houses will decide the issues to be discussed in Parliament with the approval of the Lok Sabha speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman.

During the meeting, Congress members raised the situation in Manipur as well as the bribery charges against the Adani group.

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said the party wants a discussion on ethnic strife in Manipur as well as Adani. While the Jharkhand chief minister was arrested, he said that despite the ethnic violence, the government still has confidence in the Manipur chief minister.

The opposition party also wanted a discussion on increasing pollution and train accidents in northern India.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said that his party wants the Adani issue to be discussed in the Parliament first thing in the meeting to be held on Monday.

This is a serious issue involving the economic and security interests of the country as the company allegedly paid over Rs 2,300 billion to politicians and bureaucrats to get a favorable deal for solar power projects, the Rajya Sabha MP said.

Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay $265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) in bribes to Indian officials in exchange for favorable terms for solar power contracts.

The group denied the accusations.

He said the Congress also wants discussions on issues like severe air pollution in northern India, the “out of control” Manipur situation and train accidents.

The meeting was convened by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju.

The meeting was attended by BJP president JP Nadda, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Gaurav Gogoi, along with T Siva, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Anupriya Patel.

The Winter Term of the Parliament, which will start on Monday, is planned to last until December 20.

The government has listed 16 bills, including the Foundation Amendment Bill, to be discussed in the session.

Among the bills pending in the Lok Sabha is the Foundation (Amendment) Bill, which has been listed for consideration and passage after a joint committee of the two Houses submits its report to the Lok Sabha.

The panel is tasked with submitting its report on the last day of the first week of the Winter session.

Opposition members on the panel are demanding an extension of time for the submission of its report. The BJP MPs alleged that committee chairperson Jagdambika Pal had crashed the committee meetings and sought the intervention of Speaker Om Birla.

Rijiju said there was a provision to extend the mandate of the joint committee but no discussions have been held so far. He highlighted that Lok SSbha’s business advisory committee is the platform to discuss the issue of extending the duration of the panel.

Presentation, discussion, and voting on the 2024-25 First Supplemental Grant Request Group are also listed.

The other bill listed by the government for introduction, consideration and passage is the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill, which aims to increase the pecuniary (defined as monetary value of a case) appellate jurisdiction of Delhi district courts to Rs 20 lakh from the current Rs 3 lakh. one hundred thousand

It also includes the Merchant Shipping Bill, which aims to ensure compliance with India’s obligations under maritime agreements to which New Delhi is a party. Additionally, the Coastal Transport Bill and the Indian Ports Bill have also been listed for introduction and final passage.

As many as eight bills, including the Foundation (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Foundation (Repeal) Bill, are pending in the Lok Sabha. According to the Lok Sabha bulletin, two bills are pending in the Rajya Sabha.

An additional Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak bill passed by the Lok Sabha is pending in the Upper House, the Rajya Sabha bulletin said.

A number of proposed laws to implement simultaneous elections in the country are not yet on the list, but some reports suggest that the government will likely introduce the proposed legislation in the next session.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)