Parliament session likely to be extended till August 2

The ongoing Budget session of Parliament is likely to be extended by a week, till August 2, to complete pending legislative agenda of the government.

Parliamentary sources said that the government was considering to have five more sittings of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha beyond the scheduled end of the Budget Session on July 26.

The government had planned to get Parliamentary approval for 10 ordinances issued during the inter-session period, including one on making instant triple talaq a criminal offence.

On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet approved The Companies (Amendment) Bill and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill – both to replace Ordinances issued in February-March this year.

An Ordinance has to be approved by Parliament within six months of its promulgation, failing which it gets lapsed.

Of the 10 Ordinances listed by the government, Parliament has approved six with the triple talaq bill likely to be the most contentious piece of legislation which may run into opposition barrier in the Rajya Sabha.

The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, The J&K Reservation (Amendment) Bill, The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, the Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, the SEZ (Amendment) Bill and the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Bill 2019 have been passed by Parliament to replace the respective Ordinances.

Besides, Parliament has also passed the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill that seeks to give the probe agency enhanced powers, and government plans to push the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill during the ongoing session.