Monsoon session of Parliament to commence on July 18

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, “We are in favour of passing the GST bill in the Monsoon Session. Will speak to all parties, even if it requires personal talks.”

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Naidu further said that a lot of bills were pending in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

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“Three ordinances are also pending, these will also be brought up in the session,” the minister added.

According to reports, 45 bills are pending in Rajya Sabha while the Lok Sabha has 5 bills pending before it.

Rajya Sabha

The bills pending in Rajya Sabha include the contentious Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-second Amendment) Bill, 2014, known as the GST Bill, which was moved in the Upper House in August 2015 after being passed by Lok Sabha.

The government is hopeful of the passage of the GST bill in this session amid indications that a number of regional parties have broken ranks with Congress on the issue and are willing to extend their support to this crucial economic reform measure.

Another key bill is the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which was moved in December 2015 but the discussion on it had remained inconclusive. The bill could not be taken up in the 2016 Budget session.

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Lok Sabha

In Lok Sabha, important bills pending include the Consumer Protection Bill 2015 and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015.

The government will also push for clearing a bill, which seeks to replace an Ordinance to amend the Enemy Property Act as well as a bill to replace the Ordinance on the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The last few sessions of Parliament have seen sparrings even though the second part of the Budget session recorded a relative improvement as far as the completion of government business was concerned.

The opposition is likely to attack the government on the NSG issue and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s decision to not seek a second term at the central bank after his term ends in September.