17th Lok Sabha LIVE: Narendra Modi and his cabinet take oath of duty
New Delhi, June 17: The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha will commence from today during which the passage of the Union Budget and other key legislations such as triple talaq will be on top of the agenda for the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chairing an all-party meeting on the eve of the first session of the new Lok Sabha, invited heads of all parties to a meeting on June 19 to discuss the "one nation, one election" issue and other important matters.
Noting that there are many new faces in this Lok Sabha, Modi said the first session of the Lower House of Parliament should begin with "fresh zeal and new thinking".
At the all-party meeting, the Congress raised with the government issues of unemployment, farmers distress, drought, and press freedom, while also calling for early conduct of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.The opposition parties demanded discussion on all such issues in Parliament, with the Congress asserting that it is still a "fight of ideologies".
Prime Minister Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress lawmakers Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, K Suresh, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and TMC leader Derek O'Brien were present at the meeting.
Opposition has no strategy in place as 17th Lok Sabha is set to commence
The BJP also held its parliamentary party meet here Sunday with Prime Minister Modi assuring Indians that his government will be at the forefront of facilitating legislation that manifests the spirit of "sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas".
A day before the first session of the newly-constituted 17th Lok Sabha, a meeting of the NDA was also held here.
The government had promulgated as many as 10 ordinances for the session which ends on July 26 and will have 30 sittings.
The first two days of the session will be used for administering oath of office to all Lok Sabha MPs. The oath will be administered by protem speaker Virender Kumar. The speaker will be elected on June 19 and the next day the president will address a joint sitting of both Houses.
The budget will be introduced on July 5.
Among the bills that will be introduced, the one on triple talaq could be a contentious one between the government and the opposition.
Stay tuned for all the LIVE updates:
BJP President and Home Minister Amit Shah takes oath as member of the 17th Lok Sabha.
BJP MP and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh takes oath as member of the 17th Lok Sabha.
Congress’ Kerala MP Suresh Kodikunnil takes oath as member of the 17th Lok Sabha.
"The role of an active Opposition is important. Opposition need not bother about their numbers. I hope they will speak actively and participate in house proceedings," PM said.
''When we come to Parliament, we should forget Paksh and Vipaksh. We should think about issues with a ‘Nishpaksh spirit’ and work in the larger interest of the nation,'' the Prime Minister said ahead of the Parliament session.
Modi said,''After several decades, a govt has won absolute majority for the second term. People have given us the chance to serve the country again. I request all the parties to support the decisions that are in favour of people.''
Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking to media outside the Parliament ahead of the first session said,''Today, a new session is starting, there are new hopes and dreams with the beginning of this session. Since independence, this Lok Sabha elections saw highest number of women voters and women MPs.''
BJP MP Virendra Kumar takes oath as the Protem Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Thawar Chand Gehlot, leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha ahead of parliament session said,''I would request ruling party as well as opposition parties that any problem can be resolved through discussions. So, during the session, parties should make an effort to find solutions''
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the BJP leader of the House in the Lok Sabha. Rajnath Singh will be BJP's deputy leader in Lok Sabha. Justice Minister Thawarchand Gehlot has been named the party's Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha with Piyush Goyal being his deputy. Main opposition party Congress has yet to decide its leader in both Houses of Parliament. Sonia Gandhi, however, has been elected as leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party.
The cabinet is likely to this week approve proposed amendments in the three-decades-old motor vehicles law. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend more than five dozen sections and introduce more than 20 new sections.
The Monsoon Session will end on July 26.
The Centre will also introduce the The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, based on the amendments in the ordinance President Ram Nath Kovind had promulgated on March 2.
Among the bills likely to be introduced in this session is one that would make the practice of Triple Talaq illegal. The Congress has decided to oppose the bill, but the Janata Dal (United), an ally of the BJP, has also signalled its opposition. The Centre had on June 12 approved an ordinance for the bill after the previous one lapsed on June 3.
According to report, the Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha will comprise 30 sittings spread over 40 days. The Rajya Sabha will sit 27 times over a span of 37 days.
The first two days of the session will be used for administering oath of office to all Lok Sabha MPs. The oath will be administered by protem speaker Virender Kumar. The speaker will be elected on June 19 and the next day the president will address a joint sitting of both Houses.
A day before the first session of the newly-constituted 17th Lok Sabha, a meeting of the NDA was also held here.
The BJP also held its parliamentary party meet with Prime Minister Modi assuring Indians that his government will be at the forefront of facilitating legislation that manifests the spirit of "sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas".
Ahead of the parliament session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an all-party meeting on Sunday to seek support on the smooth running of parliament. In a tweet, he called the meeting "fruitful".
Meanwhile, the budget will be presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 5. The interim budget was announced ahead of the elections in February.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on Monday after the national elections that ended on May 23, during which the government will present the Union budget and introduce several key bills.
On June 19, Modi has invited presidents of all parties who have representatives in either house to discuss the matter of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
Addressing the media after the all-party meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said the prime minister urged leaders of all parties to "introspect whether members of Parliament are able to fulfil people's aspirations as their representatives and the manner in which last two years of the 16th Lok Sabha were wasted".
An all-party meeting is a customary procedure before the beginning of every session of Parliament to ensure its smooth functioning.
Joshi said the government has requested all parties, especially the opposition, for their cooperation for the smooth functioning of both Houses of Parliament.
In order to build esprit de corps, Modi has invited presidents of all those parties who have an MP either in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha for a meeting on June 19.
The meeting has been called to discuss "one nation, one election" issue, celebrations of 75 years of India's Independence in 2022 and 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary this year, he said.
It will be followed by a dinner meeting with all MPs of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on June 20 to freely interact and exchange views with the government, Joshi said, adding that these two novel initiatives would go a long way in building team spirit among all parliamentarians.