By G Krishna Mohan Rao*
New Delhi: The Union Government remains tight-lipped over the agenda of the Special Session of Parliament despite assurance from the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on September 1, 2023, that it will be circulated “very shortly”.
Ahead of the Special Parliament Session from September 18 of this month, Joshi, today held a press conference but remained silent on the agenda issue. He simply announced that an all-party floor leaders’ meeting had been convened on September 17 at 4.30 p.m.
NEWS UPDATE: In a later development today, a Lok Sabha Bulletin stated that the Special Session will hold a special discussion on the subject, “Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha – Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings”.
As per the Bulletin, the Government will also clear four bills, including the one on the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner.
However, reliable sources within the ruling party indicated there could be “surprises” in store, and hence the suspense remains over the “real agenda” of the Government calling the Special Session.
Ever since the government sprung a surprise on the nation on August 31, 2023, by making a sudden announcement of calling a Special Session of Parliament, there have been widespread speculations in the media as well as in political circles about the government’s intentions.
Even to this day, there is no indication of what exactly the government has in mind – Whether they want to go for early Lok Sabha polls, bring any special legislation or celebrate the success of the Chandrayaan 3 and the G20 summit.
The reference made to Amrit Kaal, by Pralhad Joshi in his post was seen by some as an indication that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be planning to use the Special Session to tomtom that India has emerged as a “ Vishwa Guru” under him, after the success of Chandrayaan 3 and also last week’s consensus on Delhi Declaration at G20 Summit. It seems apparent that the government would want to browbeat the Opposition in the Parliament and take full credit for it when the General Elections are fast approaching.
On the other side, the Congress Party-led Opposition has been targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union Government for diverting from ‘set precedents’ by calling a Special Session of Parliament without disclosing the agenda.
The Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Modi, last week, demanding discussion and debate on several issues including the current economic situation of the country. Gandhi said that the Session is being held without any consultation with other political parties and none of them have any idea on the agenda for the session. That is the reason the 24-party INDIA alliance was not able to finalise its strategy.
Following is a list of Special Sessions of Parliament held in the recent past:
- November 26, 2019– Special Sitting in Central Hall commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Constitution;
- June 30, 2017– Joint Special Session in the Central Hall of Parliament at midnight to roll out GST;
- November 26 and 27, 2015 — Special Sitting to commemorate Constitution Day;
- July 22, 2008 — Special Session for a trust vote after the Left parties withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance-1 government;
- August 26, 1997 to September 1, 1997 — Special Session to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indian independence.
Political circles speculate that the government could use the special session to push for “one nation, one poll”, the women’s reservation bill, and/or the Uniform Civil Code Bill. Other rumours include that the government could advance the Lok Sabha polls and hold it along with the elections in five states towards the end of this year, or alternatively club assembly polls with the parliamentary elections in May- June next year. Amid the guessing game for the last two, the government has maintained silence, issuing no official notification.
Another speculation was that the government could bring a bill on the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes ( OBCs) in a bid to counter the caste census demand of the pro-Mandal parties of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states. After almost six years and 14 extensions, a Commission set by the Modi government on the sub-categorisation of OBCs submitted its report in early August 2023. The agenda of the Rohini Commission was to decide the OBCs into sub-groups and apportion the 27 per cent OBC quota among them based on each community’s population to ensure equitable distribution.
With the government keeping mum on the agenda of the five-day Special Session, the Opposition is pointing out that during the 9 years of the Modi regime and even before, there have been seven occasions, where Special Sessions of Parliament were held and all the time government revealed its agenda much in advance. The Opposition accuses the government of deliberately hiding its agenda which is against the spirit and conventions of parliamentary democracy.
Meanwhile, informed sources said that the Special Session of Parliament will start in the old building on September 18 and will be later moved to the new building on September 19, 2023, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which concluded last month, was held in the old Parliament building. The new Parliament building was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28, this year.
*Senior journalist
