Monsoon Session: All-party meeting underway, govt to discuss ways to increase productivity

Ahead of the Monsoon session of the Parliament which is slated to take place tomorrow, the government is hosting an all-party meeting today at 11 am. The meeting is scheduled to formulate a strategy to maximise the productivity of the House and address the concerns of the Opposition during the term. 

The meeting is called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and it will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It also includes other leaders from all political parties. The subjects that the Opposition would like to have for discussion during the session of the Parliament will be on the meeting's agenda. 

Additionally, the Opposition will hold a meeting later in the day to select a candidate for the Vice-Presidential elections. Jagdeep Dhankhar, the governor of West Bengal, was named by the BJP on Saturday as the NDA's vice presidential candidate.

While the central government will try to push many legislations during the monsoon session of Parliament, the opposition is likely to bring up problems about the new Agnipath recruitment scheme for the armed services, unemployment, and inflation among others.

It is pertinent to mention that the Monsoon Session is of utmost significance as the election of the President and Vice-President office is scheduled to take place in this session. The Presidential polls are scheduled to take place on July 18 while the Vice Presidential elections will be held on August 6. The tenure of President Ram Nath Kovind is coming to an end on July 24 and Vice President M Venaiah Naidu’s term will come to an end on August 10. 

Bills pending in the list include: 

• The Indian Antarctica Bill, 2022, it is pending in the Lok Sabha.
• The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019. It was passed by Lok Sabha and in the upcoming session, it is likely to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha.
• The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 was passed by Lok Sabha and is yet to be passed by Rajya Sabha.
• The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 is pending in Lok Sabha.
• The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019.
• The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021
• The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 (in respect of State of UP – amendment regarding change of district name to be approved by Cabinet) was introduced in Lok Sabha in March 2022.

As the monsoon session 2022 of parliament is slated to commence from Monday i.e. 18 July, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will convene at 11 am from Monday onwards. The central government will seek to push several legislations during the monsoon session. According to sources, its legislative agenda includes 24 bills for passage.

New bills to be newly introduced in the Parliament during the Monsoon session include:

• The Central Universities Amendment Bill, 2022.
• The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 is also a new bill and was sent for printing on Thursday.
• Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019, (in respect of State of Assam).
• The Mediation Bill, 2021 (with Standing Committee chaired by Shri Sushil Kumar Modi)
• The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (report of Standing Committee under examination) and the Registration of Marriage of Non-Resident Indian Bill, 2019 (report of Standing Committee under examination).
• The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2019 (report of Standing Committee under examination),
• The Pesticide Management Bill, 2020 (report of Standing Committee under examination).