The monsoon session of Parliament, which started on a stormy note on Tuesday with the Congress raising Lalit Modi issue in Rajya Sabha, has been adjourned till 11 am on Wednesday. Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after obituary references.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoped that the session will be productive and key issues concerning the country will be debated in Parliament. The session is scheduled to run till August 13.

The Congress has already made its intentions clear by saying it would disrupt the proceedings on the issue of controversial land bill amendment as well as its demands for resignations of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan for their alleged links to former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and Vyapam scam.

Live updates:

4 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11 am on Wednesday.

2:49 pm: CPI leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechury demands high level probe into all scams. He also demands resignation of Swaraj till the probe is on.

2:45 pm: According to ANI, Venkaiah Naidu said that all opposition wants is mud-slinging. If they are not ready for discussion what can we do? 

2:24 pm: Congress wants to disrupt the session, not discuss, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

2:20 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned for the fourth time on 21 July.

2:17 pm: Aaj ka sabse bada ghotala karwaya hai, #vyapam karwaya hai aur abhi bhi sharam nahi aati?, stated Pramod Tiwari (Cong), ANI tweeted.

12:45 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm after uproar over Lalitgate row.

12:10 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 12:30 pm after ruckus over Lalitgate row.

11:52 am: Lok Sabha adjourned for the day after obituary references.

11:48 am: Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 12 pm after uproar over Lalit Modi row.

11:45 am: Congress demands that former Lalit Modi should be brought back to India so that he faces law.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said in an interview on India Today that neither the Lower House nor the Upper House will function if the BJP-led government fails to obtain resignation of the three Ministers or sack them ahead of the session, PTI reports.

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu made it clear that Congress' demands for resignation or sacking won't be entertained.

"There is no question of accepting ultimatum by anybody. From where did the question of resignation arise? Nobody can dictate terms to the government. From the government's side, no Union minister has done anything illegal or immoral," Hindustan Times quoted Naidu as saying.

Naidu added that Swaraj is ready to make a statement in Parliament over her assistance to IPL chief Lalit Modi in seeking UK travel papers to fly to Portugal.

Meanwhile, Raje is facing flak from the opposition for extending her support to Modi with his immigration application to a UK court.

Chouhan, on the other hand, has become the latest target of the opposition for his alleged involvement in the massive Vyapam or recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh. The demand for his resignation increased with the deaths of nearly 40 people linked to the scam.

Land Bill

The controversial Land Bill is also expected to be tabled this session and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked for opposition parties' full cooperation so that they can move towards the implementation of the Bill.

However, the Congress is not in a mood to support "such an atrocious bill", they are not ready to compromise with the three critical clauses in the Bill, the consent clause, the social impact clause and the clause that determines land will be returned to the farmers if it is unused after five years, Azad said.

He added that the Congress may even prevent the Bill from being tabled for discussion in the Rajya Sabha. 

Other Bills likely to be tabled for discussion

There are at least 10 Bills pending in Rajya Sabha, where NDA has just 64 seats of the total 245, Business Standard reports.

  • Mental Health Care Bill, 2013
  • Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012
  • Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013
  • Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015 – passed by Lok Sabha
  • Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Bill, 2013 (currently with Select Committee)
  • Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2015
  • Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2015
  • Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2014
  • Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015
  • The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Re-settlement (Second) Bill, 2015, and The Goods and Services Tax Bill were with the respective Committees that were set up to review the Bills.

The BJP government is likely to introduce seven Bills in 2015 monsoon session of the Parliament:

  • Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 ( To replace an Ordinance),
  • Bureau of Indian Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2015
  • Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015
  • Constitution amendment bills relating to reservation of women in Panchayats and Local Bodies
  • Road Transport & Safety Bill, 2015
  • Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2015
  • Human Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) Profiling Bill, 2015
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