Winter session begins, 49 bills to be tabled

Winter session begins, 49 bills to be tabled

Wednesday, December 1, 2004 (New Delhi):

Leaders of all political parties met Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee ahead of the crucial winter session of Parliament, which begins today.

Forty-nine bills will be tabled for discussion in the short 17-day session.

Returning from his three-day long visit to Laos on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also made it clear that the government is willing to discuss any issue with the Opposition.

"We are willing to discuss any issue. If the Opposition wants to discuss any important issue, we will cooperate with them," said Singh.

Price rise

The BJP-led NDA says it will not disrupt the proceedings of the House. But they will continue to keep the pressure on the UPA government.

From price rise to the Shankaracharya's arrest, the BJP has issued 69 notices on matters that it wants a discussion on.

Starting at Old Delhi's Ram Lila grounds, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP President L K Advani will march down to the Parliament street police station where they will court arrest in protest of the rising inflation.

Other than the senior BJP leaders, several BJP MPs and MLAs will also court arrest.

"We want to discuss the hike in petrol and LPG prices," said Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Leader, BJP.

Patents bill

Though the Left parties have promised to back the government, they too want a debate on the all-important Patent Bills and the issue of hike in petroleum products.

However, with only a 17-day long session and 49 bills tabled for discussion, the biggest challenge for the government would be to ensure the smooth functioning of the Parliament.

news from ndtv.com

(With PTI inputs)