From Citizenship Bill To Questions On Economic Slowdown, Know What's On Table For Parliament's Winter Session

Parliament’s Winter Session, starting today, is likely to witness heated discussions as the Opposition aims at raising issues of economic slowdown, job crisis and the lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir as the Modi Government seeks to push the contentious Citizenship (Amendment), Bill.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing an all-party meet on Sunday said that his government is prepared to discuss all issues. He urged all MPs to make the Winter Session as productive as the previous Budget session when the Parliament set a new record by passing 28 bills.

May the Winter Session of Parliament be a productive one. https://t.co/nsY4FNpxoW

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2019

The 250th Rajya Sabha Session, commencing today, will observe 20 sittings between November 18 and December 13. It is the second Parliament session of the BJP government after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The first session of the government was productive as several crucial bills were passed, including The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 (Triple Talaq Bill) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act that gave more power to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In a key decision of the last session, the two Houses passed a resolution to scrap the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Key Legislations To Be Passed

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Prahlad Joshi on Sunday said that 27 bills will be taken up for introduction and consideration in the Winter Session. Currently, there are 43 bills pending in Parliament. Of these, 12 are listed for consideration and passing, and seven are listed for withdrawal. Twenty-seven bills are listed for introduction, consideration, and passing.

Prahlad Joshi also said that two bills, namely: (i) Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Ordinance, 2019 and (ii) Taxation of Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, are required to be passed in the ensuing Winter Session.

Some important pending legislation that will be passed in this session include:

1) The National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019

2) The Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019

3) The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019

4) The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment), Bill, 2019

5) The Dam Safety Bill, 2019

6) The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019

7) The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019

8) The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019

9) The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Fresh Bills To Be Introduced

Some important new bills likely to be introduced, considered and passed during this session include:

1) The Pesticides Management Bill, 2019

2) The Insolvency & Bankruptcy (Second) Amendment Bill, 2019

3) The International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019

4) The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2019

5) The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019

6) The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019

7) The Arms Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019

Bills For Withdrawal In Rajya Sabha

1) The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 1987;

2) The Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy Pharmacy Bill, 2005;

3) The Pesticides Management Bill, 2008;

4) The National Commission for Human Resources for Health Bill, 2011;

5) The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013;

6) The International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019; and

7) The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019

“Rajya Sabha may be the second house, but it is never the secondary house,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as the upper house of parliament completed 250 sessions today.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha. Watch. https://t.co/arafRrFPqk

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2019

Modi also complimented the presiding officers of the two Houses for creating a positive impact among the people about the functioning of the legislature.

Also Read: From Anti-Terror Law To RTI Act, The Controversial Bills Passed In Lok Sabha This Budget Session