Parliament winter session likely from Dec 5-22

Even if some of the planned dozen Bills are tabled, their passage would be difficult

The last full session of Parliament before the Lok Sabha elections may not see much business. The winter session is likely to be held from December 5 to December 22, giving only 11 working days to the government to carry forward its legislative agenda.

The government was planning to table and pass about a dozen Bills in the session, including the Insurance Bill, Sebi Laws Amendment Bill and Direct Taxes Code Bill. However, the paucity of time may not allow it to do so. Even if some of the Bills are tabled, their passage would be difficult.  

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had recently exuded confidence that the government would be able to pass these in the winter session. He said the government had secured the support of the principal opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for the Insurance Bill that seeks to raise the foreign direct investment cap in the sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.

The second supplementary demand for grants is also likely to be placed before Parliament in the session. It would be a small supplementary, as most of the demands would be met from savings.

“The net cash outgo would be minimal,” said a finance ministry official who did not wish to be identified.  

Officials said the session would commence from December 5 after the completion of Assembly polls in five states on December 4. It is likely to end before Christmas, with December 22 being the last working day.

The polls in Chhattisgarh will be held in two phases on November 11 and 19. Madhya Pradesh will go for  elections on November 25, Rajasthan on December 1, and Delhi and Mizoram on December 4.

Various scams during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had made it difficult to carry out any business in some of the past sessions. The winter session could also be choppy, with the opposition likely to rake up issues such as high inflation and the coal scam.

The UPA government, however, has already managed to get some of the crucial legislations like Food Security Bill, Land Acquisition Bill, PFRDA Bill and Companies Bill passed in previous sessions.