Brief Parliament session before Budget on cards?

10% seats rule will not deter appointment of Leader of Opposition

The Union Cabinet will take a call on the proposal of the ministry of parliamentary affairs to convene a short session of Parliament before calling the Budget session on Thursday.

It was suggested Parliament be convened for seven sittings lasting over nine days, so that newly inducted ministers could familiarise with their portfolios and duties. “This is to ensure Parliament functions smoothly and the Budget session is more productive,” said a highly placed source.

The seven sittings will include oath administration to new members and a joint session of Parliament, to be addressed by President Pranab Mukherjee. Three days will be kept for the debate on the motion of thanks. After that a Budget session can be held, and Parliament has time till July 31 to pass it.

According to sources, appointment of the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha won’t be a problem for the new Speaker, though the Congress doesn’t have a minimum of 10 per cent of the total seats in the House. The Parliament Act doesn’t have a provision that insists the leader of a party with only a minimum of 10 per cent seats can become the leader of opposition.

The Act says: “Leader of the Opposition, in relation to either House of Parliament, means that member of the Council of States or the House of the People, as the case may be, who is, for the time being, the Leader in that House of the party in opposition to the government having the greatest numerical strength and recognised as such by the Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be.”

The Congress with 44 seats is the second largest party after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The confusion was created following Rule 121 under the Rules of Speaker, which says before appointing any one person as leader of opposition, the Speaker should see that the principal opposition party “shall have at least a strength equal to the quorum fixed to constitute a sitting of the House, that is one-tenth of the total number of members of the House.”

Also, “an association of members to form a Parliamentary Group shall have at least strength of 30 members”. The official, however, clarified: “It is the Speaker’s prerogative but technically speaking, the Act will prevail over the rules.”

Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday nominated Kamal Nath as pro tem Speaker because of his seniority.