The Union government on Thursday decided to extend the Parliament session till August 7 to complete its legislative agenda.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committeeon Parliamentary Affairs here, official sources said.
Following the decision, Parliamentary Affairs MinisterPralhad Joshi told LokSabha that there were around 17 pending bills as heexplained the reason for the extension. Speaker Om Birla then made anannouncement in the House about the session’s extension till August 7. Theongoing session had started on June 7 and was scheduled to end on July 26.
In RajyaSabha, the government is set to formally propose theextension on Friday at the business advisory committee meeting, the sourcessaid.
Though opposition parties like the Congress and theTrinamool Congress had opposed any move to extend the session, the governmenthas the prerogative to do so, they said.
There has been precedent of Parliament session beingextended beyond the original schedule, they added. PrimeMinister NarendraModi had first indicated about the extension in a BJPparliamentary party meeting, saying it can be done, if necessary, to completethe government’s legislative agenda.