At All-party Meet, Parties Push for Women’s Reservation Bill; Sitting in New Parl Building From Sept 19 – News18

Parliament Special Session updates: An all-party meeting was held on Sunday ahead of the special session of Parliament from September 18 to September 22.

The government scheduled an all-party meeting to brief the leaders and hear their opinions amid a buzz on whether it will have some surprise item up its sleeve during the five-day sitting.

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The unusual timing of the session, which begins on Monday, has left everyone wondering, even though the main standout feature on the listed agenda is a special discussion on Parliament’s journey of 75 years starting from the “‘Samvidhan Sabha” (Constituent Assembly).

The government has also listed the bill on the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners to be taken up for consideration and passage during the session. The bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha during the last Monsoon session. The government enjoys the prerogative of tabling in Parliament some new legislation or other items that might not have been part of the listed agenda.

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Parliament Special Session: All-party Meeting | Updates

• The Telugu Desam Party at an all-party meeting raised the issue of its leader N Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest by the Andhra Pradesh Police and said it will also take it up in Parliament, amid objections by the YSR Congress which is in power in the state.
• Several opposition leaders dubbed the bill on the appointment and service conditions of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners as “anti-Constitution” and “anti-democratic”, sources said. The bill seeks to replace the Chief Justice of India with a cabinet minister in the panel for selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners, in a move that will allow the government to have more control in the appointment of members of the poll panel.
• PM Modi is likely to be the first speaker in Lok Sabha during the special discussion on Parliament’s journey of 75 years starting from the “‘Samvidhan Sabha” (Constituent Assembly) while Piyush Goyal will be the first speaker in Rajya Sabha, top government sources said.
• DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said there is something that is being concealed. “We want to know that…I have never come across such a situation where the political parties and the MPs are kept in the dark,” he said.

• Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on the first day, the session will be held in the Old Parliament House. “Next day i.e. on 19th September, there will be a photo session in the Old Parliament, then at 11 am there will be a function in the Central Hall. After that, we will enter the new Parliament. Parliament session will start in the new Parliament on the 19th of September and regular government work will start from the 20th of September,” he added.

• After the all-party meeting, Congress MP Jose K. Mani said the Centre is not clear about its agenda. “They are not telling us…the agendas (of special Parliament session) that are taken up are normal subjects. They are hiding something, and we wanted to ask them what is the agenda…”, he said.
• On parties’ demand for women’s reservation bill, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said an appropriate decision will be taken at the appropriate time.
• At all-party meeting, tributes were paid to security forces personnel who laid down their lives in Kashmir, said Union Minister Pralhad Joshi.
• Several parties, including from the ruling and opposition sides, made a strong pitch for tabling and passage of the women’s reservation bill.  Several leaders said the long-pending bill should be tabled and hoped that it can be passed with consensus.
• Defence Minister and Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh, Union Minister and Leader of Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi were present there.
• Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Congress, Derek O’Brien from Trinamool Congress, Vandana Chavan from National Congress Party (NCP), Farooq Abdullah from National Conference, Tiruchi Siva and Kanimozhi from DMK, Vaiko from MDMK have arrived to attend the meeting in Parliament.
• Other leaders including Binoy Viswam from the Communist Party of India, Vijaysai Reddy from YSRCP, Praful Patel from Ajit Pawar faction of NCP, ST Hasan from Samajwadi Party, K Keshava Rao and Nama Nageswara Rao from BRS, H. D. Deve Gowda from Janata Dal (S)Pinaki Misra and Sasmit Patra from Biju Janata Dal (BJD) are also present there.

5 BILLS TO BE DISCUSSED DURING FIVE-DAY SESSION

1. The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023. This bill was introduced in the previous monsoon session of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, despite severe opposition from the other side. The bill proposes that a three-member committee led by the Prime Minister will be responsible for appointing future chief election commissioners and election commissioners.

2. The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on August 3, laid on the table of the Lok Sabha on August 4. It proposes regulation of the legal profession by only Advocates Act, 1961 and repeals the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879, while retaining a provision dealing with touts in courts.

3. The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, was also passed by the Rajya Sabha on August 3 and laid on the table of Lok Sabha on August 4. The government says it will lead to ease of doing business for media and publishing companies, simplify the process of registration, and decriminalise several colonial-era penal provisions.

4. The Post Office Bill, 2023, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 10. The bill is in consideration and after being cleared by the Rajya Sabha it will be laid on the Lok Sabha table. It repeals the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, and provides for matters related to the functioning of the Post Office, an undertaking of the central government.

5. The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023 has been listed by the Rajya Sabha. This bill was passed by the Lok Sabha and it seeks to repeal 65 laws that are obsolete or that have been made redundant by other laws. It also corrects a minor drafting error in the Factoring Regulation Act, 2011.

There have also been some talks about a bill to ensure quota for women in elected legislatures like Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

(with PTI inputs)