 "Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley speaks in Rajya Sabha during winter session of Parliament in New Delhi")
The Rajya Sabha, which has passed only one Bill during the ongoing session of Parliament because of frequent disruptions by the Congress and other opposition parties, is set to have a busy three days.
It is likely to pass as many as half a dozen bills before the session concludes on Wednesday. However, the Constitutional amendment on a proposed national goods and services tax will not be one of these.
Passage of these half-dozen bills was agreed at an all-party meeting convened by the House's chairman, Hamid Ansari (the country's vice-president has this post) on Friday.
The Lok Sabha has passed 12 bills and six more have been introduced. As mentioned earlier, the Rajya Sabha passed one; also, none were introduced after the session started on November 26.
There are as many as 18 bills on the pending agenda here. Of these, the Rajya Sabha is likely to take up seven - SC and ST Prevention of Atrocities, on commercial courts and commercial appellate divisions in high courts, amending the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Atomic Energy Act, appropriation bills on supplementary demands for grants and excess demands for grants. All cleared by the Lok Sabha.
A Whistle Blower Protection (Amendment) Bill and a Juvenile Justice Act amendment, as passed by the Lok Sabha earlier, are likely to be referred to Rajya Sabha committees, as is another seeking to amend the law on child labour, on which a standing committee gave a report at the end of 2013.
The Rajya Sabha is also likely to discuss the role of Arunachal's governor in the legislative controversy there, a motion on growing intolerance endangering the unity and diversity of the country, and on prices of essential commodities and food grain.
The Lok Sabha will take up Bills amending the Payment of Bonus Act and the National Waterways Act. And, a discussion on the situation in Nepal and the state of Indo-Nepal relations, beside resuming discussion on Sustainable Development Goals.
The Lok Sabha has passed 12 Bills this session. These include items on the Bureau of Indian Standards, salary conditions of Supreme Court and high court judges, supplementary demands, the high courts' commercial division one mentioned earlier, one on arbitration and conciliation and others amending the Negotiable Instruments Act and the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act.
The only Bill the Rajya Sabha has passed in this session is the one on negotiable instruments.
