Stormy winter session of Parliament on the cards

The government has prepared a list of 62 new Bills to be taken up in Parliament, besides several pending Bills.

The 23-sitting session promises to be stormy as the government is likely to face an Opposition onslaught on a range of issues, which include rise in prices of essential commodities, demand for a better price for sugar cane, the telecom scam, raids on former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and the Vande Mataram issue, among others.

The Congress, which leads the ruling UPA combine, will however, be in a belligerent mood, fresh from the victories not only in three states—Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh—but also from a win in a key Uttar Pradesh seat in the Lok Sabha byelection.

It is unlikely that Parliament will transact any business on the first couple of days as the Uttar Pradesh parties have planned to demand remunerative prices for sugar cane while the BJP and Left parties have decided to take up the issue of price rise.

The session, which is likely to conclude on December 21, has on agenda a Bill which includes providing for 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies and the Equal Opportunities Commission Bill, apart from replacing four ordinances with Acts. An important Bill will be the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill to replace the Judges Inquiry Act.