Citizenship, triple talaq bills and Budget: Stage set for stormy last session of 16th Lok Sabha

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Parliament is headed for a stormy session -- the last for the 16th Lok Sabha -- with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government trying to push through key bills.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hoping to pass The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the triple talaq bill that is facing strong resistance from the Opposition and some of BJP’s own allies.

The Session will commence on January 31 and end on February 13. It will begin with President Ram Nath Kovind’s joint address to both Houses of Parliament. The legislative business will begin from February 1 with the presentation of the Interim Budget.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu have called for all party meetings on January 30 and January 31, respectively. The smooth functioning of both houses will be discussed at the meetings.

According to the provisional schedule, Private Members’ Bills (PMBs) are expected to be discussed on February 8 in both Houses. These could include Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Member of Parliament (MP) Right to Disconnect Bill and Indian National Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s The Sports (Online Gaming and Prevention of Fraud) Bill.

Also read: EXPLAINER | What is a Private Member's Bill and why does it mostly fail the House test

The two Houses are also expected to set aside 3-4 days to discuss the President’s address and the Budget.

Multiple bills may lapse

The government is hoping to push through multiple key bills as it is the last session of the 16th Lok Sabha. Some of the bills pending in Parliament stand to lapse if they are not passed before this Lok Sabha’s tenure ends.

According to PRS Legislative Research, parliamentary procedure specifies that a bill introduced in the Lok Sabha will lapse at end of its term if it is pending passage in either house of Parliament. A bill introduced in and passed by the Rajya Sabha would also lapse if it remains pending in the Lok Sabha at the end of its tenure.

If, after the Lok Sabha elections, the new government plans to take up the lapsed bills, they would have to be introduced again in Parliament.

Key bills, showdown of Rajya Sabha

The government is hoping to pass some of the key bills pending in Parliament. These include: The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2018; The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013, among others.

The government is hoping to push through two key bills -- the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, commonly referred to as the triple talaq bill, and The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 -- in this session.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal immigrants (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan) eligible for Indian citizenship.

Also read: EXPLAINER | Citizenship (Amendment) Bill’s key question: Why are some illegal immigrants more equal than others?

The bill is facing severe opposition from multiple region parties in the Northeast. Many of the parties protesting against this bill are BJP allies. Passing of the bill in Lok Sabha in the Winter Session had forced one of its allies -- the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) -- to quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

On January 29, 10 Northeast political parties, including BJP allies and the Janata Dal (United), unanimously decided to oppose the bill.

BJP is hoping to pass the bill in the Upper House where it does not command a majority.

Lack of numbers in the Rajya Sabha may also result in the stalling of the triple talaq bill. Opposition parties had blocked the passage of the bill in the Winter Session too.

Productivity of Parliament remains a concern. In the Winter Session that ended on January 8, productivity of the Lok Sabha was 46 percent while that of the Rajya Sabha was 18 percent.

Also read | Winter Session of Parliament: Productivity of Rajya Sabha at 18%, Lok Sabha at 46%