New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said that the party has decided to focus on the issues of unemployment, price rise, and reservation for the economically weaker sections in the upcoming Winter Session of the Parliament that will start from Wednesday.
"There were talks on EWS reservation. Since three judges of the Supreme Court agreed on the amendment and two have raised questions about it. Congress will demand to reconsider it and would like to have a debate in Parliament," Jairam Ramesh said while talking to the reporters.
He further said that it was necessary to get the caste census done and Congress was in favour of it. Congress leaders held a meeting at the residence of party leader Sonia Gandhi to chalk out their strategy for the Parliament session.
"In today's meeting, issues of unemployment, Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee for farmers, price rise, inflation, cyber-crime, tension being created between judiciary and Centre, the weakening of the Rupee, lower exports and air pollution in north India among others were discussed," Jairam Ramesh further said.
The Winter Session will begin on December 7 and will last until December 29. The session also had to be delayed by a month due to the Gujarat election schedule.
Notably, this will be the first session during which Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, will officiate proceedings in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha).
While the government is planning to pass a number of bills during the upcoming session of Parliament, the Opposition will demand a discussion on the pressing matters.
The Monsoon Session commenced on July 18 and adjourned on August 8. The session saw 16 sessions spread over a period of 22 days.
On the other hand, the union government's agenda for the winter session of Parliament includes 16 new bills.
Some of the bills slated for introduction are the Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2022.
The Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill seeks to incorporate certain aspects of the Madrid Registration System. The Madrid system of International Registration for Marks provides a one-stop solution to enterprises for registering their trademarks and protecting their brands in multiple countries.
The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Bill, 2022, seeks to amend the parent Act to make some of the procedures simplified in order to be more accessible to maximum stakeholders.
The North East Water Management Authority Bill, 2022, will seek the creation of a new entity North East Water Management Authority (NEWMA) by winding up the existing Statutory Body, namely, the Brahmaputra Board, which was created under the provisions contained in the Brahmaputra Board Act, 1980, eventually repealing aforesaid Act of 1980.
"NEWMA will work as an Integrated Water Resources and Basin Management Organisation for the Brahmaputra and Barak Basin in the North Eastern Region of this Country, including Sikkim and West Bengal," an official circular said.
The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2022 will seek to repeal redundant and obsolete laws. Some of the other bills include the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the National Dental Commission Bill, 2022.
The government's agenda also includes Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 9, 2019, and was referred to the Standing Committee on External Affairs. The report was presented on February 11 this year.
The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill seeks to enact domestic anti-maritime piracy legislation in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to provide the necessary legal framework within the country for the prosecution of persons for piracy-related crimes committed on high seas beyond the territorial jurisdiction of India. (ANI)
