Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha that the House will be adjourned and would meet again soon for a "very important" bill.
Key Points
- The government is considering a bill to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, potentially to facilitate the implementation of women's reservation.
- Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the House will adjourn and reconvene soon to discuss a 'very important' bill.
- The government is reportedly in back-channel talks with the Opposition regarding the women's reservation law and delinking delimitation from the Census.
- The Opposition has requested that an all-party meeting be held after the assembly elections conclude on April 29.
- The Congress party supports reservation for women but expresses concerns about the timing of the proposed bills, accusing the government of seeking political advantage.
The Budget Session of Parliament will reconvene on April 16 after a brief recess to pass bills to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 so that the women's reservation law can be implemented at the earliest.
Sources said the two Houses will reconvene for three days - April 16-18 - to take up the proposed legislations.
The government is learnt to have conveyed to the opposition parties that the Houses are likely to meet for three days beginning April 16.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, while speaking in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, said the House will meet again soon to consider a key legislation.
"We have certain bills and important issues, and we have shared this with the opposition also. We are going to have a very important bill in the next two-three weeks," he said.
According to the government calender, the House was scheduled to adjourn sine die (for an indefinite period) on April 2
Earlier, Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha that the House will be adjourned and would meet again soon for a "very important" bill.
In the Upper House, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asked about the government's plan.
Rijiju, in a response, said that the Upper House would take up the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill for passing on Thursday, which was scheduled to be the last day of the Budget session of Parliament.
He added, "We have certain important issues, we have shared this with the Opposition also. We are going to have a very important bill in next 2-3 weeks".
"Today, government will propose for the House to be adjourned, and we will meet very soon; purpose is known to the members," he said.
Government's Strategy and Opposition Concerns
The government has been holding back channel talks with the Opposition to bring at least two bills to implement the women's reservation law and delink delimitation from the Census to increase seats in the Lok Sabha from the present 546 to 861.
Ramesh, however, said that the Opposition has demanded that the all-party meeting that the government intends to call should be held once the assembly elections are over on April 29.
Rijiju, however, replied that the government is bound to fulfil its promise given to the women of the country.
Congress backs women's quota, but...
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Khare, meanwhile, said that the Congress is in support of reservation for women in the legislature, but the proposed bills are important and have long-term implications.
He also alleged that the government was trying to gain political mileage by bringing the Bills as states are going to the polls. Rijiju, however, denied the charge and said the issue should not be politicised.
