Opposition against extending Parliament session: Sources

The opposition parties told the government on Monday that it was against extending the ongoing session of Parliament, sources said.

During a business advisory committee meeting chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the government conveyed to the opposition parties that it was considering to extend the ongoing parliament session, the sources said.

The government said that there are about 10 bills which are pending and other legislative business which they would like to complete during the ongoing session, the sources added.

Leaders of various opposition parties categorically told the union ministers present in the meeting that they were against extension of the session.

The ongoing session is scheduled to conclude on July 26, but the sources said the government was mulling to extend it till August 2 to ensure passage of all the bills listed for business.

The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha, which started on June 17, has been the most productive till July 16 in the last 20 years, with the Lower House registering 128 per cent productivity till Tuesday, according to think tank PRS Legislative Research.

Productivity means the number of hours the House actually functioned compared to the number of hours officially earmarked for it to work.