Kharge meets Rajya Sabha chairman ahead of Budget session, seeks cooperation in House

Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday met Vice President and Upper House Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar in the national capital on the eve of the commencement of the second part of Budget Session and sought his cooperation.

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday met Vice President and Upper House Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar in the national capital on the eve of the commencement of the second part of Budget Session and sought his cooperation. Kharge said that the Opposition parties are "keen to play" a constructive role in in making the government accountable.

"Met @VPIndia, ahead of the forthcoming session of the Parliament to seek his cooperation. We as, Opposition parties are keen to play a constructive role in making the Government accountable and would want discussion on every burning issue facing the nation," Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha tweeted. Speaking to the reporters, Kharge said that the Vice President discussed the ways to cooperate in the upcoming Session.

"The meeting was a courtesy call. He (Jagdeep Dhankar) spoke about certain things on how all must cooperate in running the second part of the Budget Session. There will be a meeting of the Opposition tomorrow and after that, a Congress meeting will be held," he said. The Vice-President also held a meeting with a panel of vice-chairpersons of the Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, the focus of the second part of the Budget Session which resumes on 13th March will be on the demand for grants and passage of the Union Budget. The government is also likely to bring in legislation for passage in this part. As per the records, about 26 Bills are currently pending in the Rajya Sabha and close to 9 in the Lok Sabha for passage.

Two Bills - The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 were referred to a Joint Committee by the government last Winter Session and they are currently being examined by the panel. It is known through sources that the CP Joshi-led panel discussing the Multi-State Cooperative Bill will be presenting its report in Parliament in the upcoming session. This panel has completed its discussion on the Bill and is likely to adopt its draft report on 13th March. The government to also lists The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which was scrutinised by a Joint Committee of Parliament.

It is also known through the sources that the government may bring the keenly awaited Personal Data Protection Bill in the upcoming session. This Bill is likely to be cleared by the Union Cabinet soon. Amongst the Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha, three Bills have already been passed by Lok Sabha including The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022.

The second half of the Budget Session is set to begin on March 13 and will go on till April 6. (ANI)

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