All-party Meeting Begins in Parliament’s Special Session with Rajnath Singh and Pralhad Joshi Present | Updates

Prior to the extraordinary session of Parliament from September 18 to September 22, an all-party meeting got underway on Sunday in the late afternoon.

While there was speculation about whether the administration might have a surprise item up its sleeve during the five-day session, it nevertheless organized an all-party meeting to update the leaders and hear their perspectives.

Even though the primary outstanding item on the stated agenda is a special debate on Parliament’s journey of 75 years beginning with the “‘Samvidhan Sabha” (Constituent Assembly), the session’s peculiar date has left everyone perplexed. The session starts on Monday.

The government has also scheduled for discussion and approval during the session a measure regarding the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners. During the most recent Monsoon session, the bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha. The government possesses the power of tabling before Parliament some new legislation or other things that may not have been part of the official agenda.

All-party meeting during a special session of parliament | Updates

In attendance are Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
Attending the meeting in Parliament are Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the Congress, Derek O’Brien from the Trinamool Congress, Vandana Chavan from the National Congress Party (NCP), Farooq Abdullah from the National Conference, Tiruchi Siva and Kanimozhi from the DMK, and Vaiko from the MDMK.
Other political figures also attended, including H. D. Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (S), K. Keshava Rao and Nama Nageswara Rao of the BRS, Vijaysai Reddy of the YSRCP, Praful Patel of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, ST Hasan of the Samajwadi Party, and Sasmit Patra of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

During the five-day session, 5 bills will be discussed.

The first is the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023. Despite fierce resistance from the opposing side, this measure was tabled during the preceding monsoon session of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. The law suggests that future chief election commissioners and election commissioners would be chosen by a three-person committee chaired by the Prime Minister.

2. On August 4, the Lok Sabha received the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which had been approved by the Rajya Sabha on August 3. While repealing the Legal Practitioners Act of 1879, it intends to regulate the legal profession only via the Advocates Act of 1961 and keeps a clause that addresses touts in courts.

3. The Rajya Sabha also approved the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, which was then presented to the Lok Sabha on August 4. The government claims that it would make it easier for media and publishing enterprises to do business, streamline the registration procedure, and decriminalize a number of penal legislation from colonial times.

4. On August 10, the Post Office Bill, 2023, was presented in the Rajya Sabha. After being approved by the Rajya Sabha, the bill would be brought on the Lok Sabha table for deliberation. It provides for topics relating to the operation of the Post Office, a project of the central government, and repeals the Indian Post Office Act, 1898.

5. The Rajya Sabha has placed the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023, on its agenda. The Lok Sabha approved this bill, which aims to abolish 65 laws that are no longer in effect or that have been rendered unnecessary by other laws. Additionally, it fixes a small drafting mistake in the 2011 Factoring Regulation Act.

A measure to provide a quota for women in elected legislatures like the Lok Sabha and state assemblies has also been discussed.