Winter Session Of Parliament Likely From Dec.15
The Winter Session would likely be held from Dec. 15 till Jan. 5.
The Centre is contemplating convening the Winter Session of Parliament from Dec. 15, a day after the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls, government functionaries said today.
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh met to deliberate upon the dates of the session. The session would likely be held from Dec. 15 till Jan. 5, they said on the condition of anonymity.
Later, briefing the reporters on the Cabinet decisions, Finance Ministry Arun Jaitley said the Winter Session schedule would be such that it did not overlap with the assembly elections, and it would be a “regular” session.
We are going to ensure that a regular Winter Session is held, but elections and session dates don’t overlap.Arun Jaitley, Finance Ministry
Asked whether a session which begins in December can continue in January without the customary address of the president, Jaitley said the issue was settled long ago. If the session spilled over to January, it was not considered a fresh session, he explained.
The functionaries indicated that the dates of the Winter Session would be formally announced after two ordinances placed before the Cabinet today were promulgated. An ordinance cannot be issued when the dates of the session are announced.
The opposition had attacked the government for delaying the Winter Session, claiming that it was being done to avoid a debate on scams, including the Rafale deal, ahead of Gujarat Assembly polls.
The BJP, however, rejected the Congress’ tirade as a “chorus of baseless allegations” and insisted that previous governments, including the United Progressive Alliance, had also scheduled sessions after state polls as politicians were busy campaigning.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar had said the Winter Session, which generally starts from the third week of November, would be convened in December.
Watch this discussion with Rajya Sabha MP and Janata Dal (United) Leader KC Tyagi and Biju Janata Dal Member Tathagata Satpathy on the importance of this Winter Session of Parliament.