Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah has asked party colleagues to be prepared for an extension in Parliament’s ongoing session, scheduled to end on Friday as of now.
According to functionaries aware of developments, Shah said at the BJP parliamentary party meeting that the session could be extended to allow the government more time to wrap up legislative business. On Monday, HT had reported that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government has nine bills, including two on crucial labour reforms, lined up for passage in the ongoing session.
Opposition parties are not in favour of the proposal to extend the session. Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha, K Suresh, said his party is “strongly against” any extension.
A final decision has yet to be taken but indications are the session will be wrapped up on August 9, instead of July 26 as is originally scheduled. Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters after the meeting, “There is a possibility of this. You will be officially informed when a decision is taken.”
At the meeting, Shah also briefed MPs about the 150-km foot march the Prime Minister wanted them to undertake to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He asked MPs to submit a list of programmes they were planning for the anniversary.
The MPs were also briefed about water conservation at the meeting, at which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present. Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gave a detailed presentation on best practices being followed even as he cited examples of water conservation and drip irrigation followed in Israel and Australia.
On Mann ki Baat, his radio programme, earlier this month, Modi had urged people to join hands to conserve water. If people worked together with full strength, they could make the impossible possible, he had said.
First Published: Jul 23, 2019 23:56 IST
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