Parliament's Monsoon Session likely to begin on July 12; set to be stormy with farmers' protests, cattle slaughter ban

The monsoon session of Parliament is likely to begin on July 12 and end on August 10-11. The session is likely to begin five days before the Presidential polls scheduled for July 17.

budget 2017, pm modi, fm arun jaitley, budget forecast, gdp fy18 forecast, economic survey 2017 — Indian security personnel stand guard near sacks containing the papers of the federal budget for the 2014/15 fiscal year, at the parliament in New Delhi July 10, 2014 [Representational Image].Reuters file

The Monsoon Session of Parliament is likely to begin on July 12 and end on August 10. The session is likely to begin five days before the Presidential polls scheduled for July 17.

The session has been scheduled for an earlier date this year due to the presidential polls. It usually begins at the end of July and continues till the end of August.

However, this time it is likely to begin on July 12 as an early session would mean that all MPs would be in Delhi, where they would vote in Parliament. MPs are also allowed to vote from their home state.

Protests by farmers in different states like Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka, among others, is likely to dominate proceedings during the session. While in some states farmers have been demanding that the government waive their loans, in other states like Madhya Pradesh, there is a problem of surplus with farmers demanding a higher procurement price for their produce.

The demand for loan waivers from farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Karnataka started to rise after the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh announced a loan waiver for farmers across the state.

Tamil Nadu Farmers — Farmers from the southern state of Tamil Nadu pose half shaved during a protest demanding a drought-relief package from the federal government, in New Delhi, India April 3, 2017.Reuters

In Maharashtra, farmers spilled milk and vegetables demanding a crop loan waiver and better procurement prices. Meanwhile, farmers in Tamil Nadu resorted to weird ways of protest — using skulls of dead farmers, holding snakes and live rats between their mouths, drinking cow urine — to demand loan waiver and a drought-relief package.

Another issue that is likely to dominate the monsoon session is the central government's ban on cow slaughter across the country. The Centre has said that only trade of cows among farmland owners is allowed in the country thereby banning the sale of cattle for slaughter.

Cow, cow slaughter, cattle slaughter, beef ban — Men load a cow onto a truck in the Jantar Mantar area of New Delhi [Representational Image]Reuters/Cathal McNaughton

The new report, released by the Centre, stated that cattle bought cannot be resold within six months impinging the business of cow traders. According to the rule, cattle can only be sold to a person who has documents of proof that he is an 'agriculturist.'

The final decision on the dates of the monsoon session will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs in the next few days, sources added.