Suspension of all 14 Opposition MPs revoked ahead of short budget session of Parliament
The suspension of all the 14 Opposition MPs, whose cases were referred to the privileges committee, has been revoked ahead of the short budget session of Parliament commencing on Wednesday.
Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said the government requested the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman to revoke the suspensions and the two agreed. “We spoke to the Speaker and the Chairman and requested both of them to speak with the concerned privileges committees, revoke the suspension and give them (the 14 suspended MPs) the opportunity to come to the House. Both of them agreed,” Joshi told reporters.
The short budget session commencing on Wednesday is scheduled to end on February 9. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present an interim budget instead of a full one with the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May.
The new government will present the full budget after the polls. The President’s address to the joint houses of Parliament will be held for the first time in the new building; because there is no Central Hall in the new scheme, the joint session will be summoned in the Lok Sabha.
A record number of 146 Opposition MPs, 100 in the Lok Sabha and the rest in the Rajya Sabha, were suspended during the last winter session for waving placards and shouting slogans in the Well of the two Houses to demand a statement from the government on the Parliament security breach.