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Parl winter session from Dec 15 to Jan 5, Bill to ban triple talaq on agenda

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Session will witness only 14 days of work; Opposition to target BJP over GST rollout impact, rising food prices and allegations against Amit Shah and son

Finally, the suspense over whether or not the Centre will convene the winter session of Parliament ended on Friday. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) met under the chairmanship of Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday morning and decided that the winter session will be convened from December 15 to January 5, with just 14 working days.

The announcement of the schedule for the winter session – traditionally convened between mid-November and mid-December – came after sustained criticism of the Centre by the Opposition parties of delaying the Parliament session due to elections scheduled for the Gujarat assembly.

Gujarat will go to polls in two phases – December 9 and 14 – while the result will be announced on December 18 along with that of the Himachal Pradesh assembly election for which votes were cast on November 9.

Union parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar brushed aside attacks from the Opposition over the Centre’s delay in convening the winter session. Asserting that “the schedule of the Parliament Session has been decided so as to avoid any overlap with the Assembly Elections in the States”, Kumar told mediapersons that this was not an “unprecedented practice”.

Kumar, who is part of the CCPA, told reporters that parliament sessions have, in the past, been delayed during the government’s headed by PV Narsimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh – both prime ministers who headed Congress-led coalitions – using the same argument of avoiding a clash with assembly polls.

Though a small session, which after factoring in Christmas holidays (December 25 and 26) and weekends will leave just 14 working days for legislative proceedings, the winter session is set to witness stormy scenes between the Treasury and Opposition benches.

The Congress-led Opposition – after months of deliberations over projecting unity in countering the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government – is expected to come armed with a host of issues on which it would seek to put the Centre on the mat.

Among the issues that the Opposition is likely to rake up to corner the Centre are the continuing adverse impacts on the economy and lives of common citizens from demonetisation and the GST rollout and rising food prices. The Congress and other Opposition parties are also expected to slam the government on allegations of financial impropriety and opacity that have been leveled in news reports against two prodigal sons – BJP president Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s son Shaurya.

Besides, the recent allegations by the family members of a judge who died under mysterious circumstances while he was presiding over the Sohrabbudin Sheikh encounter case in which Amit Shah was an accused, will also be used by the Opposition to counter the BJP.

The session is also likely to draw some attention on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi as it is expected to be the first session of Parliament that Rahul would participate in after his likely elevation as Congress president (possibly on December 5).

However, despite the expected onslaught from the Opposition, the Centre is planning to come armed with an important list of legislative agenda which would help Modi.

The agenda, which is likely to include a Bill that proposes to ban the Islamic practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-ul-biddat), which had been declared “unislamic, arbitrary and unconstitutional” by a historic Supreme Court verdict earlier this year, would help the Narendra Modi government to effectively counter the Opposition in case of a deadlock forced through its protests in Parliament. If the Opposition’s protests cause a logjam in Parliament, Modi and his BJP will have the opportunity to tell the public that they had a reformist legislative agenda but could not pursue it because of the Opposition.

Besides the proposed Bill banning instant triple talaq, the Centre is likely to re-introduce a Bill that envisages a constitutional status for the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) to which the Opposition had successfully moved three crucial amendments in the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session, forcing the government to withdraw the Bill it had already got cleared from the Lok Sabha.

At Friday’s media briefing on the agenda for the winter session, Kumar told mediapersons that the issues of NCBC and triple talaq are “very important” and that “the country expects that the Bills pertaining to these two issues will come to Parliament in this Winter Session.” Kumar added: “If that is the aspiration of the country, the Government is committed to respond to this desire.”

Also on the agenda of the Parliament would be the government’s effort to replace three key ordinances with Acts of Parliament. These ordinances are – Goods & Services Tax (Compensation to States) Ordinance, 2017, the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 and the Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.

However, Congress president Sonia Gandhi‘s demand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of getting the Women’s Reservation Bill passed by Parliament is likely to remain unfulfilled during the upcoming session, sources said.

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Bollywood actor Govinda joins Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena

Govinda on his official induction in the party by CM Eknath Shinde said he is joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing from God. He said he thought he would not enter politics again. Govinda said Mumbai looks cleaner and better now.

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Bollywood actor Govinda joined Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Thursday ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. In 2004 Govinda contested from Mumbai North Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket and earned the nickname of a giant slayer as he defeated BJP’s Ram Naik. He resigned from the party and said that he had decided to take a break from politics.

Govinda on his official induction in the party by CM Eknath Shinde said he is joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing from God. He said he thought he would not enter politics again. Govinda said Mumbai looks cleaner and better now. He said his parents had a good relationship with Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

Shiv Sena leader Krishna Hedge met the Bollywood actor at his residence in Juhu. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said the actor’s joining the Shiv Sena does not come with a rider. Govinda said whatever work is assigned to him, he will do it to the best of the ability. He said he was a part of the 14th Lok Sabha and has returned to politics after 14 years.

Speaking about his role in politics, the actor said he would transform the film city of Mumbai. He did not reply when he was asked about contesting elections. Govinda said everybody has seen the same level of progress in Maharashtra in the last 2 years, as it has been seen in the country in the last 10 years. He said he is going to focus on the beautification of the state and work towards the growth of art and culture.

Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora welcomed Govida into the party and said he has known the veteran Bollywood actor for almost 25 years. He recalled the 2004 election and said both of them had fought elections together.

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Delhi Court extends ED custody of CM Arvind Kejriwal till April 1

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

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The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday has extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1. The Chief Minister will remain in custody till Monday, after which he will be presented in front of the court bench for further proceedings in the case.

The court has passed its order for the extension of the remand in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, being investigated by the ED for the last two years. Arvind Kejriwal is the fourth Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to be arrested in this case. Previously, Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were arrested in the same case. 

During the hearing today, the ED argued that Arvind Kejriwal needs to be brought face to face with some of the accused in the excise policy case. The ED further said that the data in one of the mobile phones, belonging to Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita, was extracted and is being analyzed.

Nonetheless, data from the other 4 digital devices seized during search at Arvind Kejriwal’s premises on March 21 are yet to be extracted as the arrestee has sought time to provide password/login credentials after consulting with his lawyers.

In its fresh remand plea, the investigation agency said that during Arvind Kejriwal’s custodial interrogation, his statements were recorded on five days and that he was giving evasive replies. It further said the statements of three other persons have also been recorded during the remand.

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court on Thursday, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal said on March 28 that the AAP national convener is not keeping well and is being harassed a lot while in ED custody over the past week. She asserted that the Chief Minister is being harassed a lot and his sugar levels are fluctuating.

CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and was sent to 7-days of custody. His arrest has triggered protests in the national capital and the nearby northern state of Punjab, which is also governed by AAP, over the last few days.

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Lok Sabha elections: Priyanka Gandhi questions Centre on inflation, unemployment, farmers income under Congress media campaign

She questioned about no participation of Dalits, backward classes, tribals, minorities and poor upper castes in the posts and resources of the country.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned the BJP led government at the Centre on several developmental issues under the party’s media campaign for Lok Sabha elections, Mere Vikas ka Do Hisaab.

Priyanka Gandhi asked the BJP government to give it an account of development during its tenure of 10 years. Slamming the government on youth issues, the congress leader questioned why 83 per cent of the total unemployed in the country are youth and where are the 2 crore jobs annually? She further asked about vacancy in 30 lakh government posts and exam paper being leaked.

Alleging that corporates Rs 16 lakh crore has been waived off, Priyanka Gandhi asked why are farmers committing suicide due to debt. She also asked when will the farmers’ income double and when will they get MSP? She also enquired about no proper participation of Dalits, backward classes, tribals, minorities and poor upper castes in the posts and resources of the country.

The Congress General Secretary also raised questions on the increasing number of atrocities on women. Her remarks on social media  platform, X came on a day Congress ran a media campaign with the tagline ‘Mere Vikas Ka Do Hisaab’ and ‘Haath badlega halaat’, posing questions to the Modi government.

Earlier, Congress Parliamentary Chairperson Sonia Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making a systematic effort to cripple the Congress financially and deny a level playing field in the Lok Sabha election. The Income Tax Department reportedly restricted the operations of the bank accounts following a tax dispute.

Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department asserted that it has not frozen the party’s bank account, but has made a recovery of Rs 135 crore because of its violation of the law that grants political parties tax exemptions. It added that the party is free to operate these accounts beyond the money recovered by the department.

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