The winter session of the 17th Lok Sabha will commence on November 19, Monday, and end on December 13.
While the last session of Parliament set a record as the most productive one in six decades, the winter session will feature many bills and ordinance of key importance, chief amongst which is the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, amending the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will likely be reintroduced in the Lok Sabha this session, after having lapsed in the Budget session because it was still pending in the Rajya Sabha prior to the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.
The bill will grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees, namely Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The residency requirements for these persons, who otherwise would be considered illegal immigrants, will be relaxed. It has met with opposition from parties in Assam and the other northeastern states, on grounds that it would lead to an influx of foreign migrants.
The BJP has defended the bill on the grounds that it would safeguard minority communities who are fleeing from India’s neighbouring Muslim-majority neighbours. In addition, Home Minister Amit Shah has said that following the introduction of the CAB, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would also be brought in.
Asides from this, 46 other items will be taken up by Parliament. The Lok Sabha will turn the ordinance amending the corporate tax rate into a bill. The Taxation of Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of a ‘mini-budget’ series of measures to kickstart the ailing economy. Under it, the prevailing corporate tax rate was slashed for new and existing companies, foregoing a total of 1.5 lakh crore rupees in tax revenue as a result.
Likewise, the ordinance that banned the sale of e-cigarettes will turn into a law, with the introduction of The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019.
The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 will also be tabled in the Rajya Sabha. If passed, it will remove the need for the Centre to publish Gazette notifications of the orders of Water Dispute Tribunals, reducing the delay in implementation of the same. This could affect river disputes around the Mahadayi and Krishna, which are still pending gazette notifications despite tribunal verdicts having been delivered.
The Personal Data Protection Bill has also been listed to be tabled this session, although it may have to wait until a committee report chaired by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan is presented, which will deal with the use and security of non-personal data. The bill seeks to prevent the misuse of personal data and restrict the cross-border flow of the same. It assumes particular significance given that privacy was ruled a fundamental right in 2017.
A bill amending the Arms act is also on the charts, seeking to increase regulations over the manufacture, repair or modification of firearms as well as limit the scope for the possession of multiple firearms.
A bill is also pending to regulate the use of DNA technology and establish national and regional ‘DNA data banks’. The Bill was introduced in the Budget session and later referred to the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests.
Other Bills to be discussed include amendments to the Companies Bill, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill (which will now include a chapter on cross-border insolvency and reduce the time required for admission and completion of insolvency cases) and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill. A bill to set up a Central Sanskrit University will also be introduced, as well to set up a National Police University. The Juvenile Justice (care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill is also expected to ease norms around adoption, while the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act is also to be amended to make daughter-in-laws and son-in-laws liable for the care of senior citizens.