Chandigarh September 17:
There will be five sittings during the eight-day monsoon session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha starting here on September 24.
A tentative programme released by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretariat indicates that besides obituaries on the opening day, the penultimate day will be dedicated to non-official business thus leaving three sittings to transact all legislative business.
Since the State Vidhan Sabha is scheduled to hold three sessions in a year -- winter, budget and monsoon -- the maximum gap between two sittings of the House can be six months. And since the last Budget session ended in the last week of March, the SAD-BJP government had no choice but to convene the session in the last week of this month.
Though details of legislative business are still being worked out, the coming session has assumed a special significance as former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, whose expulsion from the House has been set aside by the Supreme Court, will return to the floor of the House. Since the North Zone session of the Congress that was scheduled to be held at Mohali from September 27 has been postponed, Congress Legislature Party has virtually given up its demand for rescheduling of the monsoon sittings of the House.
The revision of salaries and perks of legislators, ministers and Chief Minister that could not be approved by the House during its last Budget session has already been approved by the Punjab Council of Ministers. The tentative schedule says that on September 24 there will be obituary references before the House is adjourned for two holidays.
When it reassembles on September 27, it will undertake legislative business. September 28 is a again a holiday. On September 29, legislative business will be taken up again followed by a day of non-official business on September 30. On October 1, the last day of the session, the remaining legislative business will be taken up.
There will be five sittings during the eight-day monsoon session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha starting here on September 24.
A tentative programme released by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretariat indicates that besides obituaries on the opening day, the penultimate day will be dedicated to non-official business thus leaving three sittings to transact all legislative business.
Since the State Vidhan Sabha is scheduled to hold three sessions in a year -- winter, budget and monsoon -- the maximum gap between two sittings of the House can be six months. And since the last Budget session ended in the last week of March, the SAD-BJP government had no choice but to convene the session in the last week of this month.
Though details of legislative business are still being worked out, the coming session has assumed a special significance as former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, whose expulsion from the House has been set aside by the Supreme Court, will return to the floor of the House. Since the North Zone session of the Congress that was scheduled to be held at Mohali from September 27 has been postponed, Congress Legislature Party has virtually given up its demand for rescheduling of the monsoon sittings of the House.
The revision of salaries and perks of legislators, ministers and Chief Minister that could not be approved by the House during its last Budget session has already been approved by the Punjab Council of Ministers. The tentative schedule says that on September 24 there will be obituary references before the House is adjourned for two holidays.
When it reassembles on September 27, it will undertake legislative business. September 28 is a again a holiday. On September 29, legislative business will be taken up again followed by a day of non-official business on September 30. On October 1, the last day of the session, the remaining legislative business will be taken up.
