New Delhi: Amid the near washout of the first two weeks of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament over the Opposition’s united demand for a discussion on special intensive revision (SIR), the government has lined up a number of bills and is likely to push their passage beginning Monday in its bid to wind up its legislative business in the coming days. According to a key government functionary, if disruptions continue to block the government’s agenda in Parliament, then it will push for the passage of its key bills despite the din. The government is likely to push on Monday the passage of a key sports bill in the Lok Sabha. The Lower House has listed the National Sports Governance Bill, which envisages greater transparency in the functioning of sports bodies, for consideration and passage. Another bill that is listed for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha is the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill. The Rajya Sabha has listed a resolution from Union home minister Amit Shah on the extension of President Rule in Manipur by another six months with effect from August 13 for passage on Monday. Union home minister Amit Shah has called a meeting of West Bengal MPs on Monday. Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee too has scheduled a meeting with her party to discuss ways to deal with Bengal-related issues in and outside Parliament and the SIR. Except for a two-day discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, parliamentary proceedings have been all but a washout since the Monsoon Session began on July 21, as the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar has ignited vociferous protests from the Opposition parties. The INDIA bloc, which has in previous sessions often spoken in different voices, has joined ranks over the issue, alleging the Election Commission’s exercise is aimed at removing voters sympathetic to its agenda and boosting the prospects of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. The EC has said it will roll out the exercise nationally to “protect” the integrity of electoral rolls to ensure that only eligible voters are allowed to cast votes. Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has accused the EC of “vote chori” (vote theft) and has been fiercely critical of the poll body. The EC had, in a statement on Saturday, rejected Mr Gandhi’s allegations as “baseless, unsubstantiated and misleading”. With the government paying little heed to the demand for a discussion on SIR in Parliament, the Opposition has been unsparing in its protest in Parliament, forcing repeated adjournments. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju recently cited a ruling by Balram Jakhar, a veteran Congress leader who was the Lok Sabha Speaker between 1980 and 1989, that the House cannot debate the functioning of a constitutional body like the EC to suggest the government’s disapproval of the Opposition’s demand.
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