Centre convenes all-party meeting on Dec 2 ahead of Parliament Session

New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) Ahead of the Winter session of Parliament, the government has convened a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Saturday.

The Winter session of Parliament begins on December 4 and will have 15 sittings till December 22, during which it is expected to consider key draft legislations, including three bills to replace the colonial era criminal laws.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi will hold the meeting on Saturday which is expected to be attended by senior leaders, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

Currently, 37 Bills are pending in Parliament of which 12 are listed for consideration and passing, and seven Bills for introduction, consideration and passing.

The government also plans to present the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2023-24.

The report of the Ethics Committee on the "cash-for-query" allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra will be tabled in Lok Sabha during the session.

The House will have to adopt the report before the expulsion recommended by the panel comes into effect.

Also, the three key bills which seek to replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Evidence Act are likely to be taken up for consideration during the session as the standing committee on Home has already adopted the three reports recently.

Another key bill pending in Parliament relates to the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners.

Introduced in the Monsoon session, the government had not pushed for its passage in the special session of Parliament amid protests from the opposition and former chief election commissioners as it seeks to bring on a par the status of the CEC and ECs with that of the cabinet secretary.

At present, they enjoy the status of a Supreme Court judge. PTI