Parl’s Monsoon Session from July 20 to August 11

New Delhi: Parliament’s Monsoon Session will start on July 20 and continue till August 11, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Saturday.

Making the announcement, he urged political parties to contribute towards productive discussions during the session.

The session is expected to be a stormy one as the Opposition parties were closing ranks to put up a united front against the Narendra Modi-led BJP in view of the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Also, Parliament is meeting at a time Prime Minister Modi made a strong pitch for a Uniform Civil Code and amid moves to step up consultations on the issue.

The Monsoon Session is expected to commence in the old Parliament building and later move to the new building, sources said. The new building was inaugurated by Modi on May 28.

“Monsoon Session, 2023, of Parliament will commence from July 20 and continue till August 11. Urge all parties to contribute towards productive discussions on legislative business and other items during the session,” Joshi tweeted.

The session will be spread across 23 days and will have 17 sittings, he said in another tweet in Hindi.

During the session, the government is likely to bring a Bill to replace the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance.

The Ordinance effectively nullified the Supreme Court judgement that gave the Delhi government greater legislative and administrative control over “services” matter.

The National Research Foundation Bill, cleared by the Union Cabinet, is also likely to be introduced. The proposed foundation will be a new funding agency to bolster the country’s research competence in areas of science and technology. Meanwhile, the Congress is all set to corner the government on various pressing issues facing the country, including the Manipur violence, rising inflation, unemployment and assault on the federal structure of the country— the way Governors of different states conducted themselves.

While asserting that Congress wants the house to function properly during the forthcoming Monsoon session, the party on Saturday announced that it will raise some of the most important issues during the session.

Briefing reporters, after the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party’s strategy group meeting, which was attended by CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that the Prime Minister was yet to break his silence over Manipur violence even after two months of the violence in the state.

Besides, he also reiterated his party’s demand for resignation of the Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh.

Ramesh further added that the party feels that the Home Minister’s visit to Manipur had not yielded anything as violence continued to rage in the troubled state.

The Congress general secretary said, “ The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP also came for discussion during the meeting.”

As the matter is in the courts, the party hopes that justice will be done and Gandhi would be able to attend the House.

He disclosed that the party president also briefed the MPs about the meeting of the opposition parties held in Patna. Such meetings will continue and the next meeting will be held in Bengaluru, he said. The party has also decided to raise the issue of railway safety in the coming session. On the Uniform Civil Code, the Congress leader said, “The party had already made its stand clear on June 15. Since nothing extra had come during the last 15 days on the matter, the party had nothing to add on it as of now.”

The party will also raise the issue of ill treatment of wrestlers, particularly the female wrestlers by the Delhi Police.

The issue of President Droupadi Murmu not being invited for the inauguration of the new parliament building would also be raised during the session.

However, Ramesh also reiterated the party’s demand for constituting the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Adani scandal.

The party will also raise the issue of the conduct of various governors in different states.