No-trust debate, Delhi services bill highlight of final week of Monsoon session

New Delhi: The Monsoon session of Parliament is set for a stormy final week with the Lok Sabha being set to take up the no-confidence motion against the government while the Rajya Sabha is likely to witness some spirited debate over the Delhi services bill.

At the outset, all eyes will be on the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Monday when it is expected to review the stay granted by the Supreme Court on the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the 'Modi surname' case and decide on the revocation of his Parliament membership.

If Gandhi's disqualification is revoked, the Congress would prefer him to be the key speaker from the opposition ranks during the no-trust motion which is scheduled to be taken up for debate on Tuesday. The Rajya Sabha will take up the Delhi services bill on Monday.

The Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha has allotted 12 hours for the discussion on the no-trust motion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to respond to the debate on Thursday.

Opposition protests demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on the ethnic violence in Manipur have rocked both Houses since the Monsoon session began on July 20.

Last week, the opposition briefly suspended its protests in the Lok Sabha to allow a discussion on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill that seeks to replace the ordinance promulgated in May after the Supreme Court granted the control of bureaucracy in the city administration to the elected government.

The contentious bill has been made a rallying point by the Aam Aadmi Party to bring together opposition parties to oppose it in the Rajya Sabha.

The numbers in the Rajya Sabha are evenly poised for the NDA and the INDIA coalitions, but the fence-sitters have tilted the scales in favour of the BJP-led government. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 3 after a nearly five-hour debate.

As many as 20 bills have been cleared by the Houses since the session began on July 20. The Lok Sabha has passed 15 bills so far during the Monsoon session, of which 13 were passed after the no-trust motion was admitted on July 26.

The Rajya Sabha has passed 12 bills during the session so far, while nine bills have been passed by both Houses.

Crucial bills such as the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill and the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill have been passed with little discussion.

In the Lok Sabha, the government has listed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023; the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023; The Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2023; and the Mediation Bill, 2023 for consideration and passage on Monday.