Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Within five weeks of the end of the monsoon session, the government has convened a special session of Parliament from September 18 to 22 but has not indicated any agenda for the sittings.
This was announced by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday.
The monsoon session of Parliament had just ended on August 11 and constitutionally the government was not required to convene a session before the winter sittings in November – December, unless it has some important agenda to get through the two houses of Parliament. Generally, three parliamentary sessions are held in a year — Budget, Monsoon and Winter sessions.
There is no official word on the agenda of the session which will be held days after the Summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10. “Special Session of Parliament [13th Session of 17th Lok Sabha and 261st Session of Rajya Sabha] is being called from 18th to 22nd September having five sittings. Amid Amrit Kaal looking forward to having fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament,” Joshi said on X.
Sources said the special session could see parliamentary operations being shifted to the new parliament building which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28. Final touches are being given to the new Parliament building to make it ready to host sessions. So, this session may begin in the old Parliament building and end in the new.
With the government not spelling out its agenda, speculation swirled about some showpiece bills being considered for passage by the Modi dispensation in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. The recent success of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission and India’s goals for ‘Amrit Kaal’ may be part of the wider discussions during the special session.
Considering the hunch of some opposition leaders that the BJP government may be planning to prepone the Parliamentary elections, due in May-June, next year, some political observers also expressed the apprehension that the September special session could be the last session of the current Parliament.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the five-day session just three weeks after the end of the Monsoon Session was aimed at managing “the news cycle” and countering the news about the ongoing meeting of the opposition in Mumbai and the latest revelations on Adani. “Regardless, the JPC demand [on Adani issue] will continue to resonate inside and outside Parliament,” the Congress MP added.
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on Thursday attacked the Adani Group alleging hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded group stocks through Mauritius-based ‘opaque’ investment funds managed by partners of promoter family, charges the conglomerate denied vehemently.
Some opposition parties, particularly in Maharashtra, raised strong objections to the timings of the special session which clashed with the Ganesh Chaturthi festivals. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said on X that the special session called during “India’s most important festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is unfortunate and goes against the Hindu sentiments. Surprised at their choice of dates.”
The Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule asked for it to be rescheduled. “Whilst we all look forward towards meaningful discussions and dialogue, the dates coincide with Ganpati Festival, a major festival in Maharashtra. Urging the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister to take the above into consideration,” Ms Sule posted on X.
Incidentally, the special session is being convened a day after the birthday of Mr. Modi. The BJP observes the 16-day period from Modi’s birthday to Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 as ‘sewa pakhwara’ during which various programmes are held across the country.
The last time, Parliament met outside its three usual sessions was at midnight on June 30, 2017, to mark the rollout of GST. However, it was a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and was not a proper session as is the case this time with both the Houses assembling. A six-day special sitting was held in August 1997 to commemorate 50th anniversary of India’s independence.
Midnight sessions have also been held on August 9, 1992, for 50th anniversary of ‘Quit India Movement’, August 14-15, 1972, to celebrate silver jubilee of India’s independence, while the first such session was on August 14-15, 1947, on the eve of India’s independence.