Key bills, numbers game to dominate agenda โ€“ Firstpost
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The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on July 20 and continue till August 13, with the government expected to push several key legislations, including constitutional amendment bills.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the schedule on Saturday, saying President Droupadi Murmu had approved the governmentโ€™s recommendation to summon both Houses of Parliament.

โ€œThe Session will commence on 20 July, 2026 and continue till 13 August, 2026, for meaningful debate, discussion and decisions on issues of national importance,โ€ Rijiju said in a post on X.

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Key bills on the governmentโ€™s agenda

According to a News18 report, the government is expected to introduce the proposed 130th Constitution Amendment Bill, the Womenโ€™s Reservation Implementation Bill, Delimitation Bill and amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). It is also likely to seek passage of several pending legislations during the nearly four-week session.

Among these, the Constitution Amendment Bill, the Womenโ€™s Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill will require a special majority in both Houses of Parliament, making them the most closely watched legislations of the session.

The proposed 130th Constitution Amendment Bill seeks to provide for the automatic removal of a Prime Minister or Chief Minister if they remain under arrest for 30 days or more in connection with specified serious offences, including corruption-related cases.

The Womenโ€™s Reservation Bill proposes reserving 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women. While the Opposition has largely supported the principle of womenโ€™s reservation, it has opposed linking its implementation to delimitation, arguing that the exercise could reduce the parliamentary representation of southern states.

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Does the NDA have the numbers?

The NDA has enough strength to pass ordinary legislation that requires a simple majority in Parliament. However, constitutional amendments require the support of at least two-thirds of members present and voting, a threshold the alliance could not meet during the previous session.

Since then, the NDAโ€™s position has improved. Following the West Bengal Assembly election, 20 Trinamool Congress MLAs joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), which later extended support to the NDA.

Later, six MPs from Uddhav Thackerayโ€™s Shiv Sena merged with Eknath Shindeโ€™s Shiv Sena, taking the NDAโ€™s effective strength to around 330 members. Despite this increase, the alliance still remains short of the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments.

NDAโ€™s position in the Rajya Sabha has also strengthened after seven Aam Aadmi Party MPs joined the BJP. According to the report, the alliance now has 141 members in the 242-member House. With the support of 10 nominated and independent members, its assured strength rises to 151, giving it a comfortable simple majority but leaving it 11 votes short of the two-thirds mark.

Regional parties may hold the key

The governmentโ€™s success in passing the proposed constitutional amendments is likely to depend on support from regional parties.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) have backed the Centre on important legislation in the previous Lok Sabha. Whether they extend similar support during the Monsoon Session could prove decisive in determining the fate of the governmentโ€™s key constitutional reform agenda.

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