Parliament's Winter Session likely to be shorter

Parliaments Winter Session is likely to be curtailed this year in view of the ongoing assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh where the BJP is locked in a straight contest with the Congress.

Informed sources said the session could be short this year and the dates would be decided once the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) meets.

Normally, the Winter Session commences from mid-November and ends before Christmas. Going by precedents, the dates for the session should have been out by now as normally the members are intimated around three weeks in advance for them to file notices for questions.

So far, the CCPA has not met and there is no official word on when it will meet.

The sources said leaders and MPs of both major parties were busy electioneering in the two poll-bound states and that could be one of the reasons why this session had not been convened yet.

The delay had also set off speculation that the government could also be mulling an early Budget session starting in middle or late January.

Last year, the Budget Session was advanced by a month so that the budgetary allocations could be cleared in March and the funds reach the departments in April itself when the financial year starts.

--IANS

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