Parliament's Monsoon Session likely to be delayed

New Delhi: The Monsoon Session of Parliament could be delayed with the United Progressive Alliance Government on Monday deferring a decision convening it, prompting a strong reaction from the National Democratic Alliance.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, met on Monday but did not take any decision in the absence of members.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said that the CCPA would be meeting within a week to finalise the schedule. He sidestepped queries whether the session was being delayed, maintaining that a decision on the schedule would be taken at the next meeting of the CCPA.

He said, two members of the Committee Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan were not present and Mukherjee left on foreign visit to return only next week.

Usually a notice of 21 days is given for a session to be convened so that ministries and departments prepare themselves for the Question Hour in Parliament.

It also remains to be seen whether the special session convened for the government to seek a confidence vote would be prorogued and a new session called later or just reconvene the Lok Sabha as part of that session.

"There is no reason for the cancellation or postponement of the session. We will oppose any such move tooth and nail. A debate on the nuclear deal is yet to be done in Rajya Sabha," BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said in a press conference in New Delhi.

Noting that the Monsoon Session, which was to be held in July, is already late, she said that media reports suggest that the government is planning to further postpone the session that was earlier scheduled for August 11.

Reports had it that the BJP led NDA was planning to make the cash-for-vote allegation a major issue in the next session.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has already constituted a committee to go into matter that has been asked to give its report by August 11. The committee is headed by a Congress member V Kishore Chandradeo.

Meanwhile, the main opposition BJP appeared in no mood to cooperate with the government on any legislative matter.

"The BJP and other partners in NDA will not render support to the government on legislative matters. This is a illegitimate government which is in power by immoral ways," Swaraj said.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had in an interview said that the government could seek support of the opposition for legislative business, she added.

BJP also made it clear that it had no plans to bring a no confidence against the government nor planning any move to tender en mass resignation on the issue of the cash for vote allegation.