Periscope: Monsoon session of Parliament will end on Friday

The session has passed one Constitutional Amendment Bill and other smaller Bills

So far, so good
 

The monsoon session of Parliament will end on Friday. The session has not been as fraught as those have been lately, though the National Democratic Alliance government seems to have a penchant for shooting itself in the foot by generating controversies in the middle of a session. This time, it was the defection of four sitting Congress MLAs in Gujarat, ahead of the Rajya Sabha election that has Amit Shah as a candidate. 

This has had the effect of the Congress scrambling to sequester its Gujarat MLAs to ‘protect’ them from crossing the floor and, of course, using the floor of Parliament to attack the government. The session has passed one Constitutional Amendment Bill, an ordinance making it easier for the Reserve Bank to declare non-performing assets, and other smaller Bills. In short, a productive session.

Amit Shah in quest for talent

Amit Shah is expected to be in Meghalaya on Saturday. The visit assumes significance, as the state will have Assembly elections during early 2018. Bharatiya Janata Party sources say it is leaving no stone unturned to spot ‘talent’ and expects many from the Congress in the state to join. Shah will inaugurate a party office during his visit. The BJP says it would put up candidates in all 60 constituencies.

Battlefield Karnataka

With eight months for elections, Karnataka will see two events to kickoff the battle.

On Saturday, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Raichur, while Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah will begin his three-day tour of the state, besides holding party meetings. However, it is not clear whether he will hold a public meeting.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara said the Raichur public rally, which was scheduled for August 4, was postponed to August 12 following the death of former chief minister N Dharam Singh. "The Raichur rally will be held on August 12, with Rahul Gandhi attending the event along with senior KPCC members, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Lok Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka in-charge secretary K C Venugopal and Oscar Fernandes," he said.

Parameshwara said more such mega rallies would be held in Belagavi, Mysuru and Bengaluru. District in-charge ministers of these places have been asked to find a suitable date and venue for the same. However, according to BJP spokespersons, Shah's visit would primarily be a closed-door event, with series of meetings scheduled between August 12 and August 14.