Centre Aims To Push Key Bills As Monsoon Session Ends Today: 10 Points

Opposition leaders will today meet at 10 am to discuss the suspension of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Lok Sabha and other issues in the Rajya Sabha. Mr Chowdhury, the Congress's leader in Lok Sabha, was yesterday suspended for allegedly disturbing the ministers.

The stand-off in Rajya Sabha continues with the Opposition sticking to its demand of a longer discussion on Manipur under rule 267 while the centre has agreed to only a shorter discussion under rule 176. The Rajya Sabha chairman has requested the two sides to resolve the stalemate so that discussion can take place.

The centre is set to push a legislation in Lok Sabha to impose 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) for online gaming, casinos and horse racing.

The government yesterday defeated a no-confidence motion that the opposition had moved in a bid to corner Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the violence in Manipur. The Opposition MPs walked out midway of the PM's speech.

PM Modi addressed the parliament during the no-trust debate yesterday, tearing into the opposition for trying to "play politics" over Manipur and assuring that the country stands with the violence-hit state. He said the Opposition had "betrayed" the people by not allowing any discussion to take place on important bills in this session.

His two-hour address in Lok Sabha was a virtual election campaign in which he mocked the No-Confidence Motions as "lucky" for him since these turn out to be a test of the Opposition. He also predicted another No-Confidence Motion in 2028, which, he said, will pave the way for victory in 2029.

The Monsoon Session was also marked by the return of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament after his conviction in the "Modi surname" case was stayed by the Supreme Court. Mr Gandhi addressed the parliament during the no-trust debate on Wednesday.

The centre is expected to move forward with another legislation that is likely to trigger a fresh face-off with the judiciary. The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Services and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, tabled in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, will exclude the Chief Justice of India from the process to appoint the country's top election officers.

The parliament cleared a crucial legislation this session that takes away the control from Delhi government over posting and transfer of officers in the national capital. The bill replaces an ordinance enforced earlier by the central government.

Another contentious legislation that seeks to impose heavy penalty for data breaches cleared the parliament hurdle this session despite privacy concerns. The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill includes a provision to impose up to Rs 250 crore penalty for data breaches.