Parliament's Winter Session likely to end on December 23

The government has managed to pass four Bills in Rajya Sabha and five in Lok Sabha so far

The Winter Session of Parliament is likely to be curtailed by a week and may end this Friday, sources said on Tuesday.

A decision to recommend early conclusion of the session, which started on December 7 and originally scheduled to end on December 29, was taken at a meeting of Lok Sabha's Business Advisory Committee chaired by Speaker Om Birla.

The choice of dates by the government that clashed with Christmas and New Year festivities had invited criticism from the Opposition, which said the ruling dispensation should have taken it into consideration while finalising the schedule.

Usually, the Winter Session starts from the third week of November and ends by around December 23. However, due to Gujarat elections, which ended on December 5, the government chose to start the session only on December 7.

While the government had expressed its intention to bring 25 Bills, including 16 new ones, it has managed to pass only four Bills in Rajya Sabha and five in Lok Sabha so far. No major Bills have been discussed while the Multi-State Cooperatives (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has been sent to the Joint Committee of Parliament for further scrutiny.

Though no large-scale disruptions have been witnessed, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have witnessed protests from the Opposition demanding a discussion on India-China military clashes by suspending the business of the Houses. However, the government has not agreed to it citing “sensitivity” of the issue, leading to walk-outs by the Opposition.

In Rajya Sabha, a short discussion on global warming was inconclusive, while in Lok Sabha, there was a debate on drug abuse. A discussion on the need to promote sports in India, which started in a previous session, concluded in Lok Sabha this time.

Rajya Sabha has passed The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, The Constitution (SC and ST) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill and The New Delhi Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill.

In Lok Sabha, Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, Supplementary Demand for Grants and two Appropriation Bills and The Constitution (ST) Order (Second Amendment) Bill have been passed so far.