Budget session likely in second week of July

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said while pending Bills in the Lok
Sabha had lapsed, the government would be prioritising 60 Bills pending in the Rajya
Sabha.
The Budget session of the 16th Lok Sabha will begin in the second week of July,
revealed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday.
Naidu said the government was working with that time frame in mind and the final
details would be worked out by the prime minister and the Cabinet.
The session of the Lok Sabha, which concluded on Thursday, had time only for
introducing the new members, the Presidential address and the Motion of Thanks on the
address.
Several other decisions, including election of Deputy Speaker, will be taken in the
Budget session. The government is believed to be in favour of having the key posts of
chairmen of the public accounts committee, and standing committee on finance and
deputy speaker - all usually held by the principal Opposition - to be divided among
opposition parties, the Congress, All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the
Trinamool Congress and the Biju Janata Dal. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will take a call
on giving Leader of Opposition status to the Congress in the coming session.

Three ordinances, including the one enabling former Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India Chairman Nripendra Mishra to be appointed as principal secretary to the prime
minister, promulgated by the new government, will be taken up for ratification in the next
session. The ordinances have been tabled in Parliament.
The minister said while pending Bills in the Lok Sabha had lapsed, the government
would be prioritising 60 Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha.
Naidu, who also holds charge of the urban development ministry, said he would like to
focus on "housing for the poor" but the "big problem" at hand was getting former
ministers vacated from bungalows so that those would be allotted to new ones.

(Business Standard)