New Delhi / Parliament winter session begins today,‘Want frank discussion on all matters’ says PM Modi

Ahead of the winter session of Parliament that begins today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is ready for frank discussions on all matters.

“We want frank discussions on all matters. It is important that there should be quality debates, there should be dialogues and discussions, everyone should contribute to enrich the discussions in the Parliament,” Modi told reporters.

The prime minister said the last session of Parliament was “phenomenal” due to the support of all MPs. “It [last Parliament session] is an achievement of not only the govt or the treasury bench but the entire Parliament,” he said.

“This is the last Parliament session of 2019. It is very important because this is the 250th Parliament session of the Rajya Sabha. During this session, we will observe the Constitution Day on November 26, when our Constitution completes its 70 years,” he added.

The government plans to pass at least 30 bills in the winter session that starts today. There will be 20 sittings in this session which will end on December 13.

The opposition is likely to counter the government on the state of the economy and the detention of political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.

The session could be stormy with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government planning to amend the Citizenship Act. Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) provides for Indian citizenship to be granted to non-Muslims of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The introduction of the CAB in Parliament could trigger protests by several opposition parties.

The government has listed the Chit Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on the first day of the winter session for passage in the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to regulate chit funds, and states that a fund can’t be created without prior sanction from the government. The bill be moved by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for passage in the Lok Sabha.

Among other key legislations to be taken up this session are bills on lowering corporate tax rates, labour reforms, industrial relations code.

The winter session will open with obituary references to two Rajya Sabha members — former Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ram Jethmalani — and former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.