New Delhi: The Government has convened a Special Session of Parliament from September 18 to September 22, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday.
“Special Session of Parliament 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.
There is no official word on the agenda of the five-day session which will be held days after the G20 Summit in the national capital on September 9 and 10.
Media reports have, so far, been tight-lipped on possible agendas. It is unclear if this special session will be held in the new Parliament building, although reports suggest this will not be the case.
Government sources have, though, also said the agenda is likely to include Amrit Kaal celebrations and India as a ‘developed nation’. There is no hint of any important bill that will be passed.
The timing of the special session is interesting, though, as it coincides with the mega opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A’s third meeting in Mumbai. The 28-party grouping has declared its intention to bring down the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in next year’s general election.
The special session will also take place amid several major developments, including India having just hosted the G20 Summit in Delhi; this will be in the national capital between September 8 and 10.
In addition, the session will also take place after the Supreme Court was told the government is open to the conduct of elections in Jammu and Kashmir. During the court’s hearing on multiple petitions challenging the government’s scrapping of Article 370 in J&K, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, said the decision on when to hold elections in the former state lay in the hands of central and state poll bodies.
However, on a timeline for restoration of statehood to J&K – a question posed by the court on Wednesday, Mehta said the government is “unable to give an exact time period for conversion”.
The Monsoon session of Parliament which began on July 20 had concluded on August 11.
This Monsoon Session, the Lok Sabha passed 22 Bills while the Rajya Sabha passed 25. Both Houses approved 23 Bills, ensuring they become laws. Among the Bills that received the nod of one House were some that the other had approved in previous sessions. Overall, Lok Sabha’s productivity was 45% and the Rajya Sabha’s was 63%. The key pieces of legislation that Parliament passed in this session were: Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, and the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill.
Like in the Monsoon Session ahead of the 2019 general elections, both PM Modi and the BJP used the no-confidence motion debate as an opportunity to highlight their achievements, “expose” the Opposition, and make a pitch to voters for the general elections. The discussion on the no-trust motion, initiated by Congress Deputy Leader of the House Gaurav Gogoi, lasted for nearly 20 hours and saw 60 MPs participate.
