Govt mulls extension, Oppn may boycott
New Delhi: The Union government is considering an extension of the ongoing Parliament session by 10 days, with BJP president Amit Shah telling his party MPs on Tuesday to be prepared for this.
It can be extended by 10 days, sources said, adding that a final decision is yet to be taken.
Meanwhile, various Opposition parties were contemplating a boycott of rest of the Budget Session unless Treasury benches accept their demand of sending some of the Bills to either a Standing Committee or Select committee. On Tuesday, most of the Opposition parties, including the Biju Janata Dal, signed a joint notice and sent it to Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, requesting to send the RTI Amendment Act, which was passed by the Lok Sabha, to a Select Committee. Opposition parties are also trying to muster the support of maximum MPs to pass a joint resolution, demanding a Select Committee. The decisions were taken on Tuesday at a meeting of Opposition parties in the chamber of senior Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad.
A total of 16 parties after two deliberations on the day decided to call a joint meeting of opposition party leaders of both the Houses. TMC's Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien said: "The ruling party wants to pass all the Bills without the Opposition. Treasury benches are ignoring the opposition demand for sending some of the Bills to a Select committee. Till today (Tuesday), the House hasn't constituted a Standing committee." After seeing the aggressive mood of the Opposition, one senior minister assured Ghulam Nabi Azad that in the first week of August all committees would be constituted.
O'Brien also told the media that they (Opposition) had received no official intimation from the government on the Monsoon session being extended. Opposition parties have highlighted the fact that the Lok Sabha has already passed 13 Bills this session without sending a single Bill for scrutiny. O'Brien said it was "a complete subversion of parliamentary democracy, we won't allow the Government to get away with it".
