Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu has called an all-party meeting on Sunday ahead of the winter session.
One of the first agendas is Parliament has to vet the President’s Rule in Maharashtra.
This is the first time in many years that the ruling alliance has a comfortable majority in the Upper House.
Triple talaq Bill
The Opposition’s collapse in the Rajya Sabha began this July when the controversial triple talaq Bill sailed through, with 99 votes in favour of the government and 84 opposed to it.
More than 30 opposition members were absent during the voting.
The BJP has 81 members, nearly double of Congress members, which is now down to 46.
The NDA parties, along with the nominated and independent members together have 105 members. In a minor setback following the recent divorce with the Shiv Sena, the alliance has lost three members.
Also, the BJP gets support on most issues from the Biju Janata Dal, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the YSR Congress. Together the three parties have 15 members.
BSP support
The BJP has managed to get support from four Bahujan Samaj Party MPs.
The BSP members stayed away during the voting on the triple talaq Bill. The BSP, after parting ways with the Samajwadi Party post the general elections, has stopped attending opposition meets.
The Congress-led UPA and other sympathetic parties together are down to 80 seats.
The government is likely to push for the Citizenship Amendment Bill which was not tabled in the Rajya Sabha earlier owing to stiff opposition.
The government also has to bring in legislation to replace ordinances banning e-cigarettes and Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 cutting down the corporate tax.
From the last session, legislation on surrogacy, dam safety and river water disputes are pending in the Upper House.
