Lok Sabha passes two bills amid din

After a week of disruptions, Lok Sabha on Monday passed two bills amid sloganeering by opposition members as the Modi government made a bid to salvage its legislative agenda for the Monsoon Session.

The government has lined up 25 bills, including three to replace ordinances, during the Monsoon Session which is expected to continue till August 13.

With protests over the Pegasus project revelations, demands for repeal of three farm laws and price rise derailing Parliamentary business in the first week of the Monsoon Session, government managers reached out to the opposition parties to end the stalemate in the House.

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Although the opposition refused to tone down the protests, they did not object to the government getting the Lok Sabha nod for certain non-controversial legislations.

Accordingly, the Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill that seeks to permit non-banking financial companies other than NBFC-Factors to undertake factoring business.

The other Bill to get Lok Sabha nod was the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) Bill that seeks to bestow 'Institute of National Importance' status on NIFTEM, Kundli and Thanjavur.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also introduced the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill that seeks to replace an Ordinance.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi made appeals to the opposition in both the Houses to participate in the debate on the bills and assured that the issues raised by them could be taken up.

Rajya Sabha also witnessed multiple adjournments as opposition members staged vociferous protests on the alleged snooping on phones, the farmers' protests and other issues.

Leader of the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal said he had reached out to opposition leaders in an attempt to ensure smooth proceedings of the House, but no consensus could be reached.

The government has turned down opposition demands for a discussion on the Pegasus revelations about alleged snooping attempts contending that IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had already made a statement on the issue.