Union Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Modi clears women's reservation bill, says report

The government has not made an official announcement yet and skipped the customary briefing after the cabinet meeting.

The key cabinet meeting, called on the first day of the Parliament's five-day special session, grabbed eyeballs in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's earlier comment that "historic decisions" will be taken in this special session.

There have been speculations that the cabinet may clear other bills like that on Other Backward Classes, "One Nation One Election" and even a change of name of the country.

The suspense over the meeting continued with the government skipping the customary briefing.

Besides the PM's statement, what had spiked interest in the cabinet meeting was a series of key meetings held ahead of it.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi met Home Minister Amit Shah. BJP chief JP Nadda was also present in the meeting.

A list of eight bills that will be taken up for discussion in the special session was given to the opposition by the government in an all-party meeting on Sunday.

The controversial bill for the appointment of election officers, which was previously believed to be part of the agenda, was dropped amid protests by the opposition.

PM Modi initiated the discussion during the special session on the 'Parliamentary journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha - achievements, experiences, memories and learnings' in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Mentioning that the Parliament sessions will be shifting to the new building on Tuesday and saying "bidding goodbye to this building is an emotional moment".