Logo

Logo

Shah makes Rajya Sabha debut, sits with PM Modi in front row

Making his parliamentary debut on the first day of the Winter Session on Friday, BJP president Amit Shah was seated next…

Shah makes Rajya Sabha debut, sits with PM Modi in front row

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and BJP chief Amit Shah (Photo: IANS)

Making his parliamentary debut on the first day of the Winter Session on Friday, BJP president Amit Shah was seated next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the front row.

Seated along with Shah and Modi will be leader of the House in the upper house, Arun Jaitley.

The BJP chief will occupy the seat held earlier by M Venkaiah Naidu, who, as Vice-President, will now chair the House.

Advertisement

Shah along with Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in August.

While the Opposition looks to corner the government in Parliament on a host of issues, inside the Rajya Sabha, the BJP is likely to have it easy as three key Opposition leaders — CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, JD(U) rebel Sharad Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati will be absent from the house.

Yechury was denied a second term by his party, Yadav was recently disqualified and Mayawati resigned in the last Parliament session.

So, the front row of the Opposition benches will have new faces.

However, before the session began, Modi said he was looking forward to a “constructive” session with “healthy, positive” debates.

Speaking to media ahead of the first day of Parliament’s Winter Session, Modi sought cooperation of the Opposition to “strengthen democracy”.

The Winter Session of Parliament will continue till January 5. The 21-day session is scheduled to have 14 sittings of both Houses of Parliament.

A total of 25 Bills are listed in the Lok Sabha and 39 Bills are pending in the Rajya Sabha.

The most important business would be the Supplementary Demands for Grants, which is the first one after the implementation of GST; the 123rd Constitutional Amendment for setting up of National Commission for Backward Classes as a constitutional body; and the Bill against triple talaq.

Advertisement