Two weeks washed out in Parliament, 32 Bills remain pending

New Delhi: The Centre had listed 32 Bills for passing in Parliament in this Monsoon Session, but after two weeks there is less sign of completing the government business following the face-off with the Opposition on the issue of GST hiked rates and inflation.

During the Monsoon Session so far, the Lok Sabha has worked approximately 16 hours and the Rajya Sabha 11 hours, however the Houses were scheduled to work for six hours daily. During the face-off, four Lok Sabha members and 23 Rajya Sabha members were suspended and in the last two days of the past week, the government was up against the Opposition on the remark against the President issue.

Amid the din, the government cleared the anti-doping Bill and Family Court Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Now, the government sources say they are ready to discuss the price rise issue, but the Opposition is in no mood to relent and it is unlikely that the Houses will see a smooth functioning. The Congress has called a nationwide protest on August 5 against the price rise.

The government had emphasized that it is ready for discussion. Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, Piyush Goyal, had said, "We are ready for discussion, but despite that the opposition members are repeatedly disrupting the House proceedings. We have been saying that we are hopeful that as soon as the Finance Minister gets well, the discussion on the price rise will take place."

However, the Opposition is slamming the government, alleging that it is not willing to hold discussion and is trying to corner the opposition.

A total 27 MPs have been suspended as the government seems to be in no mood to relent. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "With the suspension of Opposition MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, it is abundantly clear that Modi Sarkar is in no mood to allow the Opposition to raise Real, URGENT issues being faced by the people of our country in Parliament."