Parliament. Monsoon Session of Parliament to begin on Thursday

New Delhi, July 19

The situation in Manipur and a bill to replace the Delhi Ordinance will be among the issues that will dominate the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the government has listed 21 bills to be introduced during the session, besides seven bills for consideration and passage. However, the most anticipated bill on the Uniform Civil Code is unlikely to be introduced during the session.

The session will continue till August 11. While the session will begin in the old building, it is later expected to move to the new building.

The government will face the Opposition on the floor of the House, on the outbreak of violence in Manipur. The Opposition has questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the issue, which has taken hundreds of lives and thrown normal life out of gear.

A bill to replace the May 19 Ordinance that seeks to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, will also remain in focus. The Ordinance curtails the powers of the elected State government on the bureaucrats posted in Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been canvassing for support from all the Opposition parties to stall the bill in the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress, in spite of pressure from the AAP at the joint Opposition party on June 23, has not made its position public, though, according to sources, they assured the AAP that they would not vote in favour of the bill. But even with the Congress’ support, the Rajya Sabha arithmetic is not in favour of the Opposition, as many non-NDA parties, such as the Biju Janata Dal and the YSR Congress, might not go with Opposition.

Key Bills

Among the bills to be introduced, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 is expected to get more attention. This is the second attempt to bring the a bill after a previous version was withdrawn last August, as the government indicated that it would like to bring in a more comprehensive bill.

Now, according to the Lok Sabha bulletin, the purpose of the new Bill is “to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data, and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”  Further it said the Bill employs plain and simple language to facilitate ease of understanding. It aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework governing digital personal data protection in India.

Another bill which will generate wide interest would be the Postal Services Bill, which would replace a 125-year-old legislation that governs the functioning of post offices in the country. “The purpose of this Bill is to stipulate fundamental matters on postal services, facilitates the development of the postal sector, protect the rights and interests of users, and promotes the socio-economic development of the country through post offices,” the bulletin says.

The Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023 is also expected to generate interest. “As part of the review of the repeal/ amendments/ re[1]enactment of all pre-Constitution Central Acts, ‘The Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931’ has been identified to be re-enacted. Therefore, ‘The Provisional Collection of Taxes, 1931’, is proposed to be repealed and in its place, it is proposed to introduce ‘The Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023’, to make it adaptable with contemporary legislations,” the bulletin said.

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