The government has convened a special session of Parliament for five days between September 18 and 22, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday.
There was no official word on the agenda of the session which will be held days after the G20 Summit in the national capital 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.
Generally, three parliamentary sessions are held in a year- Budget, Monsoon and Winter sessions.
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 historic success of Chandrayaan-3 mission and India’s goals for ‘Amrit Kaal’ may be part of the wider discussions during the special session.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the five-day session just three weeks after the end of Monsoon session was aimed at managing “the news cycle” and counter the news about the ongoing meeting of INDIA parties 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.
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.”
Incidentally, the special session is being convened a day after the birthday of 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.
Last time, Parliament had met outside its three usual sessions was on the midnight of June 30, 2017 to mark 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.
The Monsoon session of Parliament ended on August 11. (PTI)
