Parliament session to be extended, says I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar

The government on Wednesday said that there was no question of US mediation in Kashmir, but the opposition Congress MPs staged a walkout in protest.

NEW DELHI: Parliament witnessed fireworks on Wednesday as the Congress-led Opposition demanded clarification from the NDA government over US President Donald Trump's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to mediate on the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan at the G-20 summit in Osaka. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor gave an Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha seeking 'clarification from Prime Minister on the statement of US President Trump that PM Modi had asked him to mediate in Kashmir issue'. Meanwhile, Congress leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also gave an Adjournment Motion Notice in the House over "killing of tribals across the nation".

Speaking on behalf of the government, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday categorically rejected Trump's statement and clarified in both the Houses of Parliament that "no such request was ever made". However, the opposition is likely to stall the proceedings in both the House of Parliament on Wednesday. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday that the ongoing Parliament session will be extended by 10 more working days to complete the legislative business and the government`s target to pass at least 35 Bills. With the extension of sittings, the session will now conclude on August 9.

The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha commenced on June 17 with oath-taking by members and it was scheduled to conclude on July 26.

Here are the highlights from Parliament:-

24 July 2019

23:36 IST

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government is moving to extend the Parliament session and noted that the opposition parties should not have any objection as they have been in favour of Parliament working for at least 100 days in a year.

16:03 IST

Union Cabinet approves the sale of 481.79 acres of land held by Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) to the Government of Kerala and utilization of the sale proceeds by FACT.