Both Houses of Parliament were disrupted on the fourth sitting of the Winter Session of Parliament. While Lok Sabha was unable to transact any legislative business, Rajya Sabha was able to introduce The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, 2013.
The Bill, which replaces an ordinance promulgated by the government, seeks to give limited powers to the Election Commission to determine change in the nomenclature of a parliamentary or assembly seat where a caste has been included or excluded from the SC/ST list in the last one decade.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned soon after it convened at 11:00 am. When it reconvened at noon, it was adjourned for the day after the treasury benches created an uproar following Speaker Meira Kumar's announcement that she had received notices for a no-confidence motion against the government.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned until 2 p.m, and then for the day, after Opposition Parties protested Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien's decision to allow the tabling of the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on matters relating to allocation and pricing of telecom licences and spectrum. The Opposition alleged that the dissent notes on the JPC report had been altered and asked to be allowed for the tabling of the report to be debated, following which the House was adjourned.
To check out a Session by Session breakdown of how Parliament spends its productive time, go here.
The Legislative Agenda for the Parliament for the day included:
Lok Sabha
Bills for Consideration and Passing
1. Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2013
2. Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013 (as passed by Rajya Sabha)
3. Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2013
4. Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2012 (as passed by Rajya Sabha)
5. Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2011
6. Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2011
Rajya Sabha
Bill for Withdrawal
1. The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Second) Bill, 2013
Bills for Introduction
1. The Assam Legislative Council Bill, 2013
2. The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies
(Third) Bill, 2013 (to replace an ordinance)
Bills for Consideration and Passing
1. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2013 (as passed by Lok Sabha)
2. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2013 (as passed by Lok Sabha)
3. The North-Eastern Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013
4. The National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010
Important Committee Reports to be tabled today
- 19th Report of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas (2013-14) on ‘Allocation and Pricing of Gas' [report published in October]