The Union Government has proposed a month-long winter session of Parliament from November 21 and the principal Opposition party BJP has agreed to it.
Though the session is called essentially to take up legislative business, there is little chance of the Government, faced with opposition from within and outside on a number of contentious issues and charges of corruption, being able to push through many of the crucial pending Bills.
The Gujarat Assembly elections, scheduled in two phases on December 13 and 17, are also bound to cast their shadow on the Parliament session.
The intent of the Government on the dates of the winter session was revealed by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.
She posted the dates on Twitter.
?We are agreeing with the first proposal that the winter session should be held from 21st November to 21st December as is normally held,? she tweeted.
She had discussed the dates suggested by the Government with her party and the National Democratic Alliance leaders. ?I have conveyed this to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs [Pawan Kumar Bansal] is away.?The BJP leader posted that the Government had given a couple of suggestions for holding the session, including a brief one in between the last and first weeks of November and December respectively.
?Minister of Parliamentary Affairs telephoned me and suggested some dates for winter session of Parliament. The proposed dates were ? a session commencing from 21st November to 21st December or starting from 26th November to 21st December. A brief session from 26th November to 7th December or a staggered session for a week in November and then in December,? she wrote.