Winter Session of Parliament adjournment
Both Houses of the
Parliament was adjourned on the opening day of the Winter Session as the
issue of rollback in the hike in Diesel prices, increasing the quota of
subsidied LPG cylinders and the issue of law and order in Uttar Pradesh
disrupt proceedings.
Earlier, month-long Winter Session of Parliament started in New Delhi with customary obituary references.
Following uproar, both the houses have been adjourned till 12 noon.
Later
in the afternoon when Lok Sabha resumed, soon it was adjourned till
12:30 PM after uproar by Trinamool Congress over notice of no-confidence
motion on FDI in retail.
Earlier, newly elected BJP MP from Tehri, Uttarakhand Vijay Laxmi
Shah and Congress MP form Jangipur, West Bengal Abhijeet Mukherjee were
administered oath in the Lok Sabha.
With the united opposition firm on discussion on FDI in retail under a
rule that entails voting, the stage is now set for a stormy Winter
Session.
25 Bills including Lokpal, Whistle Blowers Protection and Women
Reservation are listed for consideration and passing and 10 others for
introduction during 22 days sittings of Parliament.
Key economic reforms Bills in sectors like insurance, pension and banking have also been lined up for passage.
Govt ready to discuss all issues in Par: Kamal Nath
Government
on Thursday said it was ready to discuss all issues during the Winter
Session of Parliament but accused the Opposition of "not being
reasonable" by insisting on the time, date and rule under which a
discussion can take place.
"This
is the first day of the Winter Session. Let no party conduct itself in a
way as if this is the last day of the session," Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Kamal Nath told reporters outside Parliament House.
Asked
whether the government was open to discussion in Lok Sabha on FDI in
retail under Rule 184 which entails voting, Nath said, "The Speaker has
to admit it. We have to see under what rule. We have to see what is the
tradition in it."
"We
cannot say we want it under this rule, on this day and at this time. We
have to explain that this is not being reasonable," he said.
Nath,
who was flanked by Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv
Shukla and Paban Singh Ghatowar, said the government was ready to
discuss any issue on the floor of the House as long as it was within the
rules of Parliamentary procedure.
"Let
us not conduct ourselves in a manner which appears to the people of
this country that we are not behaving responsibly -- whether it is the
government or the opposition," he said.
BJP submits breach of privilege notice against Anand Sharma
BJP MPs Prakash Javadekar and Rajiv Pratap Rudy have submitted to the
Rajya Sabha chairman Mohd. Hamid Ansari, a breach of privilege notice
against Union minister Anand Sharma on the issue of FDI in retail, who
had assured the House that all stakeholders would be consulted before a
decision is taken on the issue.
BJP maintains that despite making this promise in both Houses of
Parliament, the government went ahead unilaterally to allow 51 per cent
FDI in multi-brand retail.
Javdekar and Rudy are learnt to have alleged that this assurance was
not kept and this amounts to a breach of privilege. If the Chairman
admits the notice then it would be sent to the Privileges Committee for
further action.
Speaker holds all-party meeting seeking floor coordination
On the eve of the session, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar held an all-party meeting seeking floor coordination.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Meira Kumar said, leaders of
all political parties have assured smooth functioning of Parliament to
discuss issues of vital importance to the common man.
The Speaker said, the parties have assured to cooperate for
transacting business in the house. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal
Nath said the Parliament belongs to all and convergence has to be
arrived at through discussion on contentious issues to avoid disruption
of proceedings.
PM invites top brass of BJP for dinner today
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has invited the top brass of main
Opposition BJP for a dinner today to ensure smooth functioning of
Parliament in the winter session.
Dr Singh had invited BJP Parliamentary Party Chief L K Advani, Leader
of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha
counterpart Arun Jaitley for a dinner on November 17 in his bid to reach
out to the party.
But the dinner was cancelled by the PM at Swaraj's request in the
wake of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's death. Government has made all
efforts to ensure it has the required numbers in the Lok Sabha by
reaching out to its allies and parties supporting it from outside.
Singh has held dinner and luncheon meetings with allie
