With an entirely new treasury bench of the House to face the opposition, the two-day Monsoon Session of the Gujarat Assembly will begin on Monday. This will be the first session of the Assembly after the swearing-in of the Bhupendra Patel government and is likely to be stormy.
With the previous Speaker of the House, Rajendra Trivedi being inducted in the Bhupendra Patel government as the senior-most cabinet minister with portfolios of revenue, disaster management, law & justice and legislative and parliamentary affairs, the House is all set to get Nimaben Acharya as its first woman Speaker. The opposition Congress has backed the nomination.
The election of deputy speaker also will be held on Monday, with the opposition Congress nominating its six-time MLA Anil Joshiyara for the post, while the ruling BJP has nominated Shehra MLA Jetha Bharwad.
The decision to convene the two-day session was taken in the previous Vijay Rupani-led cabinet meeting as was informed by the then minister of state for Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Pradipsinh Jadeja. Jadeja is replaced by Kuber Dindor, an MLA from Santrampur constituency. Dindor has also been given the higher and technical education portfolio.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel-led BJP government will pass four new Bills on Monday, including the Gujarat Private university (second amendment) Act, the Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Amendment Act, 2021, the ‘Kaushalya’ the Skill University Bill and the Indian Partnership Gujarat Amendment Act, 2021.
The House is also expected to take up condolence references on Monday for 19 former members who have died this year.
The opposition Congress will be reiterating its demands of extending the session for more days instead of the two days. It will also raise issues and demands like Rs 4 lakh compensation for Covid-19 victims, aid for the flood-affected farmers in Jamnagar, Rajkot and other regions in Saurashtra, Motera stadium to be named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and will also oppose the redevelopment project of the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati.