The last session of the present Lok Sabha begins on Thursday for passage of the vote-on-account to pave the way for early general elections.

The reconvened Winter Session is scheduled to go on till February 5 to pass the vote-on-account (Railways and General) 2004-05 and the Finance Bill, 2004 and other exigencies of government business.

The Vajpayee government has recommended to President A P J Abdul Kalam to dissolve the Lok Sabha on February 6, a day after the session ends.

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The main business includes introduction of the vote-on-account (Railways) on January 30 and the vote-on-account (General) on February 3 in the Lok Sabha. Both would also have to be passed by the Rajya Sabha, which would meet a day later.

The vote-on-account (General) would provide for government expenditure of various ministries for four months from April 1 for carrying out their activities till presentation of a regular budget by a new regime at the Centre. There will be no fresh tax proposals in the vote-on-account.

During the five-day sitting, three bills would be taken up by the Lok Sabha. Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani will introduce one to amend the Foreigners Act, 1946, Food Minister Sharad Yadav will introduce another to amend the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952 and Law Minister Arun Jaitley would move one to repeal some old Acts.

The Lok Sabha will have the Question Hour only on February 4-5.

There will be no Presidential address during the session since it will be considered part of the Winter Session, which is yet to be prorogued. This point has not gone down well with the Congress.

Party chief Sonia Gandhi has complained to the President about the 'serious constitutional impropriety' committed by the government by not proroguing the House even a month after Parliament was adjourned sine die on December 23 last.

Dismissing the criticism, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday night that both the houses were not prorogued because early elections were part of the 'scheme of things'.

Articles 83 (2) and 85 (2) of the Constitution provide for dissolution of the Upper House before the expiry of its five-year term. The 13th Lok Sabha was constituted on October

13, 1999 and it had its first session between October 20 and 29 that year.