New Parliament under Central Vista to be ready by November 2022, asserts Om Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday confirmed that the new parliament building under the Central Vista project will be ready by November 2022.  Under the Central Vista project, a slew of development projects is currently underway in a bid to revamp the ancient building including the Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, North Block and South Block.

Earlier on Wednesday, he had informed that in the present winter session, Lok Sabha had observed productivity of 82%, while the Rajya Sabha had only seen productivity of 42%.

The winter session concluded Wednesday, a day before it was scheduled to culminate on Dec 23. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla also informed that “A total of 99 MPs participated in the 12 hours 26 minutes long discussion on the COVID-19, in which they shared with the House the best work done in their respective areas during the COVID period.”

The winter session that commenced on November 29 concluded as both the houses had sine die. During the present session, a number of important bills were tabled and passed in the houses. The opposition members, however, had contested the decision of suspending 12 Rajya Sabha MPs throughout the session. The 12 suspended MPs had also protested by staging a protest at the Gandhi Statue. 

As Winter Session concludes, here are the highlights:

1. 12 Rajya Sabha parliamentarians from Opposition parties were suspended on November 29 owing to their indiscipline in the monsoon session of the House. 
2. The Rajya Sabha on the first day of its business for the Winter Session suspended 12 members including Priyanka Chaturvedi, Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, R Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain, and others, as an action taken on the grounds of indiscipline.
3.  On December 20, the Lok Sabha approved the introduction of the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill via voice vote amid vociferous opposition from some MPs. On 15 December, the Union Cabinet reportedly cleared a bill containing a slew of electoral reforms including the linking of Voter ID with Aadhaar on a voluntary basis.
4.  The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021. It was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha on December 13. The Bill was introduced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 aiming to correct a drafting error created by a 2014 amendment to the original legislation.
5. While, Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani on Tuesday tabled The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Lok Sabha.

Image: ANI