Winter session of Parliament likely to conclude today

The Winter session of Parliament is likely to conclude on Wednesday, a day before the schedule, news agency PTI has reported. The session had commenced on November 29 and was scheduled to end on December 23.

With the government completing most of its legislative agenda, there is a likelihood that Parliament could be adjourned sine die on Wednesday, the news agency reported quoting sources.

The report comes a day after a bill to link electoral roll data with Aadhaar was passed by Parliament on Tuesday. The opposition also staged a walkout to mark their protest against the bill, while high drama broking out in Rajya Sabha after Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien flung a rulebook at the reporters' table after which he was suspended from the House for "unruly behaviour."

The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that was now been passed by both houses of Parliament, seeks to weed out duplication from electoral rolls to make the process more credible.

It was passed amid protests by the opposition parties who were in well, shouting slogans throughout. The opposition leaders then staged a walkout as their demand for sending the Bill to a Select Committee was rejected.

The bill was passed after an hour-long discussion with members of several parties supporting the bill.

Since the beginning of the session on November 29, Parliament has been seeing constant disruption and adjournment as Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu suspended 12 MPs for their unruly behaviour during the monsoon session. Since then, the suspended MPs have been staging a protest near the Gandhi statue at the Parliament premise every day.

Some opposition members have also been creating ruckus inside the house and are demanding the government to revoke the suspension.

The suspended members comprise six from the Congress - Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain and Akhilesh Prasad Singh. It also includes two from Trinamool Congress (Dola Sen, Shanta Chhetri), two from Shiv Sena (Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai) and one each from CPI (Binoy Viswam) and CPM (Elamaram Kareem).

In August, marshals were called at the upper house of Parliament after Opposition members stormed the Well of the House during the passage of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021.