Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday met Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, seeking her party's cooperation for smooth functioning of the Parliament session beginning June 17.
'Mrs Gandhi had nothing to do in the day-to-day working of Dr Singh's government.' 'People say Mrs Gandhi's office used to give orders, which is nonsense.'
Responding to a question, he said, "It may also deal with fake news, though there is no specific mention in this regard."
The monsoon session of Parliament is likely to begin on August 8 and continue till September 7, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said on Wednesday.
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday night decided to recommend re-promulgation of the land acquistion ordinance incorporating nine amendments that were part of the bill that was passed in Lok Sabha earlier this month.
The session will discuss a legislation on the offices of profit besides several other bills.
The Union Budget may be presented around the middle of March in view of the ongoing Assembly elections, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated on Wednesday.
The Winter Session of Parliament usually starts in November. However, it would be the second year in a row when it would begin in December.
Hectic preparations are underway for the session with several first-time measures because of the COVID-19 pandemic such as testing of all MPs, staggered sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and use of both chambers and galleries to accommodate members while following physical distancing norms, officials said.
It has approved an amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The nearly month-long session is likely to have around 20 sittings, sources said.
The increased numbers of the Opposition bloc would mean that their MPs are likely to head several more panels than the four that they did by the end of the term of the 17th Lok Sabha.
Britain's longest serving Indian-origin Labour MP Keith Vaz on Tuesday resigned from his post as chair of the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee in the wake of being embroiled in a sex scandal.
Ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament, the government has convened a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Saturday.
On the agenda during the session will be getting the Land Acquisition Bill, GST and other important bills passed.
The monsoon session of Parliament is likely to be convened around the second week of September, at the time when the India-United States nuclear agreement is expected to go through all the processes including the final voting by the American Congress.The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs is expected to take a decision on the matter next week, amid indications from the government as also the Congress that there is no hurry to convene the session.
A formal decision is expected to be announced next week after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.
The early tabling of the financial Budget ends a 70-year tradition.
The session, which began on June 17, was scheduled to end on July 26.
Important legislations like the Goods and Service Tax Bill, Land Acquisition bill, the Real Estate Regulation and Development Bill and Negotiable Instruments Arbitration Bill will be taken up.
Sources said the reshuffle will also aim at an image makeover for the party hit by school jobs scam probe.
"We request and seek cooperation from all parties, including the Opposition, for smooth functioning of both Houses to make this session fruitful," Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar said.
'The AMs are a different beast and reflect the political play within the government.' 'Prime Minister Modi does not need to assuage any interest group to take the final call on any decision that belongs rightfully to the Cabinet,' points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
'All the big things happening today in economic development have their beginning in Dr Manmohan Singh's ideas.'
The Cabinet Committee on Parliament Affairs has recommended that the winter session of the Parliament be held from November 29 to December 23, sources said on Monday.
The draft will be examined, studied and discussed before it is tabled in the assembly on February 6, he said.
The 14-year political journey of Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra has encountered both upheaval and elevation, as her expulsion from Parliament in a cash-for-query case marked the culmination of her tumultuous parliamentary term.
The Karnataka Cabinet on Monday decided to rechristen 'Mumbai-Karnataka' region consisting of seven districts as 'Kittur Karnataka.'
While the session will begin with the President's address to the joint sitting of the two Houses, the same day the pre-budget economic survey will be tabled.
Government on Thursday claimed that it had Congress "cornered" on the penultimate day of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.
The Food Security Bill, which could not be taken up despite being listed in the Lok Sabha'a agenda since Monday, will not be part of business on Saturday.
The session is likely to see the proceedings of Parliament move from the old building to the new Parliament building.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi has said that 31 bills will be taken up in the monsoon session. Among these include the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023.
Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has written to Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha who is likely to consult the parliamentary affairs ministry before framing his response on the government's plans to advance the budget presentation to February 1, sources said.
Bhupender Yadav's entry to the Modi government as a Cabinet minister is seen as his just reward after serving as a party office-bearer for the longest term among all current occupants.
Communist Party of India-Marxist's acting state secretary and Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener A Vijayaraghavan on Monday said that the Kerala government will have a 21-member cabinet.
Singling out the Congress as the only opponent to the GST, the government hopes to pass the bill after the altered numbers in the Upper House, reports Archis Mohan.
The monsoon session of parliament is all set to begin on July 21, but it will be a truncated three-week affair.
At a meeting of the business advisory committee of Lok Sabha, which has floor leaders of all parties besides the government representatives and is chaired by the Speaker, most political parties favoured curtailment of the session, which started on September 14 and was scheduled to conclude on October 1.
Several amendments to the long-awaited Competition Bill, proposed by the parliamentary committee including more powers to the proposed Competition Commission, was cleared by the Union Cabinet.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances