Indian parliament's monsoon session begins

NEW DELHI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Monsoon Session of the Indian parliament began on Thursday in national capital Delhi, with 31 bills proposed to be taken up for discussion during the 23-day long session.

On the first day of the parliament session, opposition lawmakers have been demanding a detailed statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities that ravaged the northeastern state of Manipur for more than two-and-a-half months, claiming nearly 150 human lives so far.

Over the next 23 days, both houses of the Indian parliament, namely Lok Sabha (lower) and Rajya Sabha (upper), will have 17 sittings each.

Every year, the Indian parliament has three sessions, including the Budget Session (February-April), the Monsoon Session (July-August), and the Winter Session (November-December), with the Budget Session being the lengthiest one.