“Opposition won’t boycott, but will debate”: Jairam Ramesh on Special Parliament Session

If the opposition parties boycott the special session of Parliament, the BJP will take a one-sided decision, said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi: If the opposition parties boycott the special session of Parliament, the BJP will take a one-sided decision, said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday, adding that “there should be a discussion in Parliament about important issues, and we will put them forward”.

Ramesh’s statement comes as leaders from the opposition parties are demanding to know the motive behind calling a Special Session in Parliament.

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On Wednesday, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding to discuss and debate several issues, including the Manipur violence, the economic situation of the country, the MSP, and other demands of farmers, among other issues.

In the letter, the former Congress chief also mentioned that the session is being held without any consultation with other political parties, and none of them had any idea of the agenda for the session.

“You have convened a special five-day session of the Parliament beginning September 18, 2023. I must point out that this special session has been convened without any consultation with other political parties. None of us have any idea of its agenda,” she said in her letter.

“All we have communicated is that all five days have been allocated for government business. We most certainly want to participate in the special session because it will give us an opportunity to raise matters of public concern and importance,” Sonia Gandhi said.

Responding sharply to Sonia Gandhi’s letter, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said, “You are politicising the work of our Parliament, and when there is no controversy, you are unnecessarily raking it up.” Reacting to the Congress leader’s claim that the agenda of the special session wasn’t shared, Prahlad Joshi, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, said, “Never before, even when other governments were at the Center, the agenda was circulated in advance. Unnecessarily, they (Congress) are politicising the issue, and that’s really unfortunate.”

Meanwhile, other leaders from the opposition bloc have also raised a similar concern/ Rashtriya Janta Dal MP Manoj Jha said on Thursday that when special sessions were called before, their agenda was shared with the public, but now only two people know PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and no one knows why this special session has been called.

“It’s not a common session; it’s a special session. Before this, every time a special session was called, people had an idea why it was called. … This is the new transparency in India. Now only two people know PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and no one knows why this special session has been called.”

Speaking to ANI, Chhattisgarh Deputy CM TS Singh Deo repeated his party’s stance on the special session of Parliament. He demanded to know the agenda of the upcoming session. “The agenda of the special session of Parliament should be told… If a special session is called, it is for a special reason, and that should be stated,” he added.