New Delhi: The politically significant month-long Winter Session of Parliament will begin November 16, when the issue of the surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is likely to dominate the proceedings.
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, which met on Thursday, recommended that the session begin from November 16 and end on December 16. The issue of the Army’s “surgical strikes” across the LoC as well as the allegations by some parties that the government was trying to politicise the issue are set to grab the limelight.
The Winter Session dates have been advanced as earlier it was usually convened in the third or fourth week of November.
An early session may help the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) Bills being passed, to pave the way for the Goods and Services Tax Bill to be approved in November or at the latest by early December.
The government is also considering advancing the Budget Session by a month or so, starting from January next year.
Official sources told this newspaper that besides the GST-related laws, nearly 15 new bills are likely to be introduced. The government will also push passage of the ordinance that seeks to amend the Enemy Property Act.
The central government had for the fourth time in December promulgated the ordinance to amend the nearly 50-year-old Enemy Property Act to guard against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who had migrated to Pakistan and China after wars.
