Speaker Om Birla extends Lok Sabha session till August 7

Speaker Om Birla on Thursday extended the first session of the Lok Sabha till August 7 on the government's request.

Birla made the announcement after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi requested him to extent the House proceedings so that over 20 pending Bills could be passed.

The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha commenced on June 17 with oath-taking by members and it was scheduled to conclude on July 26.

The government's request came two days after the BJP's Parliamentary Party meeting which decided to extend the proceedings of the Parliament. The meeting was held on July 23 and was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar among others. IANS