New Delhi, Nov 8: The Winter session of Parliament will be held from December 1 to 19, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Saturday, in what the opposition has described as an “unusually delayed” and truncated session.
The three-week session will have 15 sittings in all and is expected to be stormy as it comes in the midst of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union territories, an exercise against which several opposition parties have raised objections.
The Monsoon session of Parliament also saw vociferous protests by several opposition parties over the SIR in Bihar that led to daily disruptions in Parliament.
“The Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu ji has approved the proposal of the Government to convene the #WinterSession of Parliament from 1st December 2025 to 19th December 2025 (subject to exigencies of Parliamentary business),” Rijiju said on X.
“Looking forward to a constructive and meaningful Session that strengthens our democracy and serves the aspirations of the people,” he said.
The tone for the Winter session will be set by the results of the Bihar assembly elections on November 14 where the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is locked in a stiff battle with the opposition Mahagathbandhan coalition.
Several opposition parties are also likely to seek answers from the government on repeated claims made by US President Donald Trump on helping end hostilities between India and Pakistan over trade, after India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Soon after the announcement of the session dates, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit out at the government, saying the session is “unusually delayed and truncated”.
“It will be just 15 working days. What is the message being conveyed? Clearly the Government has no business to transact, no Bills to get passed, and no debates to be allowed,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien alleged that the government has “Parliament-Ophobia”, describing it as a fear of facing the Parliament.
“PARLIAMENT-OPHOBIA. PM Narendra Modi and team continue to suffer from the acute condition called Parliament-ophobia, a morbid fear of facing Parliament.
“15-day Winter Session announced. Setting dubious records,” he said in a post on X.
Last year, the winter session of Parliament was held from November 25 to December 20.
The Election Commission has started phase two of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories, including in poll-bound states of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal.
Phase two of the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise began on November 4 with the enumeration state and will continue till December 4. The EC will release the draft electoral rolls on December 9, and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 7. (PTI)
