Indian politics goes into frenzy over Parliament Special Session
The political atmosphere in the country literally caught fire on Thursday after one tweet from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.
Hyderabad: The political atmosphere in the country literally caught fire on Thursday after one tweet from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, who in a quite unconventional way took to social media to announce the government’s decision to convene a special session of Parliament.
“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…”(sic), Joshi tweeted.
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With government sources remaining tight-lipped on the possible agenda for the special session, political circles went into a frenzy, speculating on what could be on the cards, with most agreeing on one thing, however. This was that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were now under the grip of fear, that the ruling NDA coalition was now jittery and resorting to multiple strategies to ensure victory in the next general elections, with the Rs.200 slash on LPG cylinder prices being just a beginning.
From speculation that the special session was to begin the process of shifting from the old to the new Parliament building, to the possibilities of an early election and even the introduction of a ‘One Nation One Election’ bill, multiple theories have begun flying around. Some also talked about the Uniform Civil Code bill and the Women’s Reservation Bill. Early elections were ruled out by many, pointing out that the BJP would wait till the inauguration of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. The possibility of delaying the elections in States that are set for polls later this year by bringing in the One Nation One Election bill too was tossed up, but then, that would mean multiple Constitutional amendments since the Constitution does not allow postponing elections unless in extraordinary circumstances.
Some have pointed out that with the special session to take place amid several major developments, including India having just hosted the G20 Summit in Delhi (September 8-10), and also coming after the Supreme Court was told that the government was open to the conduct of elections in Jammu and Kashmir, these could also figure during the session.
Generally, three parliamentary sessions are held in a year, starting with the Budget session and going on to the Monsoon and Winter sessions. Speculation is rife that Modi might be planning some showpiece bills in the run-up to the elections. The last session, which ended on August 12, was quite tumultuous, with Manipur violence and the Delhi ordnance dominating the initial days and ending with a three-day debate on the No Confidence motion introduced by the Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh echoed what many felt when he said that the special session just three weeks after the previous one was actually aimed at managing ‘the news cycle’ and to counter the news on the ongoing meeting of I.N.D.I.A. in Mumbai apart from and the latest revelations on Adani. He also said the demand for a joint parliamentary committee on Adani would ‘continue to resonate inside and outside Parliament’.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reacted saying: “Let them bring it, the fight will continue…”
On the other hand, Shiva Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party have protested the dates that clash with the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. While Shiva Sena UBT’s Priyanka Chaturvedi said the special session called during ‘India’s most important festival of Ganesh Chaturthi’ was “unfortunate” and “goes against Hindu sentiments”, NCP’s Supriya Sule asked for it to be rescheduled.
While the actual agenda remains unknown, there is consensus on one thing – that the session is to help Modi and the BJP fix their political posture for the elections, whenever they are held.
