Monsoon session extended to Sept 6

To make up for the time lost due to disruptions, the government on Monday decided to extend the monsoon session of Parliament till September 6 and hoped to pass key Bills relating to economic reforms and land acquisiton.      

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs took the decision to extend the session till September 6 at a meeting held in Parliament House here. The monsoon session, which began on August 5, was scheduled to end on August 31.      

Government took the decision today as virtually no business was transacted in the Lok Sabha till August 24 due to disruptions and adjournments caused by protests from TDP and Congress members from Andhra Pradesh against the announcement to form Telangana.     

Four TDP and eight Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh were suspended for five days from the Lok Sabha by Speaker Meira Kumar on August 23 for disrupting proceedings.    

Three Bills were passed by the Lok Sabha last Saturday and the key Food Security Bill was taken up today.      Government is hopeful of getting Parliament's nod to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, 2011, Land Acquisition Bill and other legislations. The UPA dispensation is still hopeful of convincing main opposition BJP on the Insurance Bill. On the government agenda is also the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, and two Bills on Civil Aviation. The Rajya Sabha has functioned normally on most days and transacted business. Several pending Bills were passed in the Upper House in this session.