JOIN USThe government on Thursday asserted that it has enough legislative agenda on the cards to last the Budget Session of Parliament till August 14.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said reports of curtailment of the Budget Session were mere speculation and the presiding officers of both the Houses of Parliament have been apprised of the legislative agenda of the government.
“There is no proposal as of now to cut short the session. We have enough agenda, enough bills,” Naidu told reporters outside Parliament.
Accordingly, the junior Parliamentary Affairs Ministers Santosh Gangwar and Prakash Javadekar have informed Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari about the government’s agenda for the remaining part of the session.
However, Opposition leaders maintained that the government has not informed them about any legislative agenda beyond the Union Budget.
The Parliament will have a four day break due to Eid, which falls on Tuesday as both Houses have agreed to have a holiday on Monday.
Besides the General Budget, the Parliament also is scheduled to discuss the budget for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill which seeks to increase the FDI limit in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. The Bill, which is a legacy of the UPA-II regime, is expected to be introduced in Parliament next week.
“We have enough business. We have enough bills. We will be bringing them to the House, after discussing them with the presiding officers of both the houses. We have important bills coming up in the next week. We have already taken up the budget,” he said.