The central government is set to list 16 bills in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament, which is scheduled to commence on Monday, November 25. These bills include the waqf law and five other new legislations. The winter session will conclude on December 20.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is scheduled for consideration and passage after the joint committee of the two Houses submits its report to Lok Sabha. It is necessary for thr panel to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the winter session.
Opposition members who are on the panel are demanding an extension in the timeline to submit its report. The leaders have alleged that the BJP MP Jagdambika Pal. who is chairing the committee, is bulldozing the committee meetings. They have now sought the intervention of Speaker Om Birla.
After billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani was charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange of favourable terms for solar power contracts, several opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, said that they will raise the matter in the winter session. Some leaders even called for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations.
Coastal Shipping, Merchant Shipping, Indian Ports Bill
In addition to the Waqf Bill, five new draft legislations including a bill to set up a cooperative university, the Rashtriya Sahkari Vishwavidyalaya will also be presented. The presentation, discussion, and voting on First Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2024-25 has also been listed.
The other bill listed by the Centre for introduction, consideration, and passage is the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill. This bill is aimed at enhancing the pecuniary (defined as the monetary value of a case) appellate jurisdiction of Delhi district courts from the existing Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, news agency PTI reported.
Another new draft called the "Merchant Shipping Bill" has been planned for presentation by the Centre. This bill seeks to ensure compliance with India's obligation under maritime treaties to which New Delhi is a party.
The Merchant Shipping Bill, also a new draft law planned by the government, aims to ensure compliance with India's obligation under maritime treaties and align India's maritime laws with international treaties and conventions .
The Coastal Shipping Bill and the Indian Ports Bill have also been listed for introduction and passage.
Nearly eight bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill are pending for discussion in Lok Sabha. Two bills are also pending with the Rajya Sabha, as per a Lok Sabha bulletin.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha bulletin stated that an additional bill "The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak", passed by the Lok Sabha is pending with the upper house.
A set of proposed bills over "One Nation, One Election" to implement simultaneous polls in the country have not been listed yet, though reports suggest that the central government is likely to bring the legislations in the coming session.