Monsoon session to begin from July 18

New Delhi: The Monsoon session of Parliament is set to begin on July 18 and end on August 10 with the triple talaq bill among the legislative items topping the government's agenda.

The session will have nearly 18 sittings, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters here.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, met here on Monday to recommend the dates. President Ram Nath Kovind will now formally convene the session.

"We seek the support and cooperation of opposition parties. There are many important items on the legislative agenda that the government wants to take up in the Monsoon session," Kumar said.

More than six ordinances will be taken up, he said.

The triple talaq bill, which has been passed by the Lok Sabha and is pending in the Rajya Sabha, will be among the top priorities of the government, the minister added.

He said the government would push for constitutional status for the National Commission for OBCs. The National Commission for Medical Education Bill and the transgender bill will also be taken up. With P J Kurien's term ending at the end of this month, the election to choose the deputy chairman for the Rajya Sabha will be taken up in this session, Kumar said.

The previous Parliamentary session - the budget session in April - was mostly a washout. During that session, the Lok Sabha (LS) spent just 1% of its allotted time on legislative business even as the Rajya Sabha (RS) spent 6%. The actual hours that the Houses sat as against those available was 21% for the LS and 27% for the RS. In all, 250 hours were wasted while issues like the PNB scam and alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act couldn't come up for discussion.

According to PRS legislative research, the last Parliamentary session was the least productive budget session since 2000. The Upper House spent only three minutes on government bills while it was 14 minutes for the Lower House.