First session of Parliament from June 4 to June 12
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the issue of regional imbalance of his Cabinet and demand from allies for better representation when he expands his Cabinet after the first session of the 16th lok Sabha. The Cabinet on Thursday recommended for convening of the first session of lok Sabha from June 4 to June 12.
While a full-time Defence Minister is also to be appointed then, sources said the Cabinet expansion is likely to happen before the Budget Session of Parliament which begins on July 2 and that Modi might induct about 25 more Ministers of State (MoS). Modi was sworn-in along with 45 Ministers, 23 of them of Cabinet rank early this week.
With the expansion, the Modi Government will not be so “lean and trim” as was initially being speculated in the media.
In his expansion exercise, the PM is expected to give more ministerial representation to Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh where the BJP performed well in the just concluded lok Sabha elections. There is only one Minister of State from Rajasthan among the present Council of Ministers and none from the other two States. West Bengal where party’s vote-share leapfrogged to 16.8% could also find representation in the Cabinet.
The BJP could also hand over more ministerial berths to its allies. Sources said the Shiv Sena, the BJP’s biggest ally, could get more Minister of State posts in the expansion.
The Sena had protested when its lone Minister in the new Cabinet Anant Geete was allotted the Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Ministry and demanded a change in portfolio.
It took a call from PM Modi to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for the party to set aside its reservations on the issue.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced that the Cabinet deliberated on Parliament session to be commenced next week. Senior Congress MP Kamal Nath, who has been nominated to be the Pro-tem Speaker, will administer the oath to the new members on June 4 and 5 after which the new Speaker will be chosen by the House on June 6.
President Pranab Mukherjee would address a Joint Session on June 9 after which the Rajya Sabha will commence on the same day. Nath will be assisted by a panel of Chairmen, consisting of Arjun Charan Sethi (BJD), Purno A Sangma (National People’s Party) and Biren Singh Engti (Congress). Naidu said the session could be extended by a day depending on the business. On a question about names being shortlisted for the post of the Speaker, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said, “We have not zeroed in on anyone. We don’t want to zero in on anyone.”
When asked whether the Congress would be given the post of the leader of Opposition despite it not having the requisite numbers, Naidu said the Government is studying various precedents while discussing the issue. “There is still time to take that call,” Naidu said.
The question of loP status, a Cabinet-rank position, has arisen as no party got the minimum required 10 per cent of seats in the 543-member lok Sabha in this election. Congress was the nearest with 44 seats, at least 10 short of the required number. Asked whether the Government would consider a Deputy Speaker from a “coalition” of AIADMK, TMC and BJD if they come together, Naidu was evasive.
“So far, there has been a practice of having a coalition Government. There has been no practice of having a coalition of the Opposition parties. We will see what precedents say,” he said.
On the issue of legislations, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said he was in the process of identifying Bills which have been pending or lapsed or which are pending in the Rajya Sabha after passage in the lok Sabha. He made it clear that the legislative agenda would not be taken up in this session, unless urgently required, as this was going to be a “short” session meant basically for taking of oath of the new lok Sabha members and electing of a Speaker.
The Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address will be taken up on June 10 and 11 in lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively and accordingly Prime Minister Narendra Modi would reply to it. Naidu, who is also Urban Development Minister responsible for allocating bungalows and flats to Ministers and MPs, requested former Ministers and MPs to vacate their official premises at the earliest so that new ones could move in.
Balancing Act
The Prime Minister is expected to address the issue of regional imbalance of his Cabinet and demand from allies for better representation
West Bengal where party’s vote-share leapfrogged to 16.8% could also find representation in the Cabinet
The PM is expected to give more ministerial representation to Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
With the expansion, the Modi Government will not be so “lean and trim” as was initially being speculated in the media