The Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced on Monday (July 20). The Lok Sabha began the session with obituary references, paying tribute to former members and notable personalities who passed away. Meanwhile, proceedings in the Rajya Sabha started with newly elected members taking the oath as Members of Parliament.
The Parliament proceedings are expected to witness heated confrontations as the government pushes for the passage of several key legislations while the Opposition gears up to corner the Centre over issues including the alleged Ram Temple donation theft, the NEET paper leak, Sonam Wangchuk's protest, the E20 petrol policy, and the earlier-defeated Constitution Amendment Bill on delimitation. The government has appealed to Opposition parties to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament in the interest of national development, urging them to participate in constructive debates and support the eight bills listed for consideration. The new session, with changed political equations following fractures in the opposition ranks, is scheduled to run until August 13 and will comprise 19 sittings over 25 days.
The Centre is also likely to reintroduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which proposes increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats and implementing 33 per cent reservation for women. The bill was defeated in April after the government fell short of the required two-thirds majority.
The new session will also begin amid the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) proposed "Chalo Sansad" march over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and its demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. However, Delhi Police has denied permission for the protest march. The CJP, which has been holding a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, barely 2-3 km from the Parliament House, on Saturday escalated its protest after police whisked away activist Sonam Wangchuk to the hospital on the 21st day of his hunger strike.