Parliament Winter Session: 16 Bills Including Waqf Bill In Pipeline As Two Houses Brace For Heated Debate

Representational Image of proceedings in the Lok Sabha. (ANI)

Parliament Winter Session: As Parliament gears up for a stormy start next week over the Adani issue, the government has listed 16 bills, including one to amend the waqf law and five new ones, for the winter session. The five new draft legislations include the one to set up a cooperative university, the Rashtriya Sahkari Vishwavidyalaya.

The bills pending in the Lok Sabha include the Waqf (Amendment) Bill which has been listed for consideration and passage after the joint committee of the two Houses submits its report to Lok Sabha. The panel is mandated to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the winter session.

Opposition members on the panel are demanding an extension in the timeline to submit its report. They have alleged that committee chair Jagdambika Pal, a BJP MP, is bulldozing the committee meetings and have sought the intervention of Speaker Om Birla.

The presentation, discussion and voting on First Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2024-25 has also been listed. The session concludes on December 20.

The other bill listed by the government for introduction, consideration and passage is the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill to enhance 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.

The Merchant Shipping Bill, also a new draft law planned by the government, seeks to ensure compliance with India's obligation under maritime treaties to which New Delhi is a party. Besides, the Coastal Shipping Bill and the Indian Ports Bill have also been listed for introduction and eventual passage.

As many as eight bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill are pending in Lok Sabha. According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, two bills are pending with the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha bulletin said an additional bill The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, passed by the Lok is pending with the upper house.

A set of proposed bills to implement simultaneous elections in the country are not part of the list yet, though some reports suggested that the government is likely to bring the legislations in the coming session.

Billionaire Gautam Adani has been 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 said on Thursday that they will rake up the issue in the Winter session with some calling for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations.