by Seventeen new bills listed for the session as the actual weather does most of the heavy lifting
A hopeful prayer, aimed at two very different systems
Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the Monsoon Session of Parliament by expressing hope that the monsoon remains proactive and the session itself remains productive, according to an official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. Seventeen new bills were listed for the session, a genuinely ambitious agenda for nineteen sittings, roughly the parliamentary equivalent of trying to pack for a month long trip in a single carry-on bag.
One forecast considerably easier to trust than the other
The India Meteorological Department can predict rainfall with real precision days in advance. Predicting whether a full legislative agenda clears both houses without walkouts, adjournments or extended opposition protests remains, by comparison, a considerably less exact science.
Opposition parties bring their own agenda
Floor leaders across parties have signalled they intend to raise a range of issues during the session, ensuring that whatever legislative business gets scheduled will compete for floor time with genuine, occasionally heated debate.
Fazit
The monsoon, at least, reliably shows up on schedule. For more parliamentary coverage, visit the Prime Minister’s Office website. For more British satire on a related theme, see The London Prat’s Dangerous-Driving Videos Removed.
