All party meeting called by Centre; to follow the upcoming Special Parliamentary Session
The government's announcement of the extraordinary session has drawn harsh criticism from opposition leaders. Many criticized the selection of the date since it conflicts with "India's most important festival" (Ganesh Chaturthi), which falls on Tuesday. The parties included the I.N.D.I.A. alliance opined so, days after the Anti Sanatan Abolition Conference row where leaders of the bloc called it the root of all discrimination.
Just few days before the start of a five-day extraordinary session of Parliament that Union Minister Pralhad Joshi asked for earlier this month, the government will convene an all-party meeting Monday evening.
Before the Parliament session begins on the 18th of this month, an all-party floor leaders meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, July 17, at 4.30 PM, Mr. Joshi said in a post on X (previously Twitter). Email invitations for the same have been sent to the relevant leaders. a letter is forthcoming. The statement was translated into Kannada and published in the post as well.
The topic for next week’s session may be discussed during the all-party meeting on Monday. This has given rise to a lot of speculative chatter, including rumors that the government may introduce a resolution to change the name of the nation from India to Bharat.
CPI leader D Raja downplayed the demand for the all-party meeting, telling news agency ANI that “this is a routine meeting… but before calling the special session, the government should have consulted leaders of the opposition.”
“Nobody knows what is the agenda for the special session. What are the issues that will be discussed?” He added.
President Droupadi Murmu’s administration issued official invitations to G20 leaders last week, referring to her as the “President of Bharat,” which infuriated the opposition. The relevant section of the Constitution, which states that “India, that is, Bharat, shall be a Union of States….,” was cited by the administration.
Additionally, there are rumors that a special session has been summoned to formally relocate the Parliament from the old to the new building. According to insiders, this may occur on September 19.
Parliament Session’s Date Fiasco
The government’s announcement of the extraordinary session has drawn harsh criticism from opposition leaders. Many criticized the selection of the date since it conflicts with “India’s most important festival” (Ganesh Chaturthi), which falls on Tuesday. The parties included the I.N.D.I.A. alliance opined so, days after the Anti Sanatan Abolition Conference row where leaders of the bloc called it the root of all discrimination.
“This special session called during Ganesh Chaturthi, India’s most significant festival, goes against Hindu sentiments!” Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena UBT spoke, and Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party called for a rescheduling.
Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi, the former leader of the Congress, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “draw attention to the fact that this special session has been called without any consultation with other political parties.” She informed the Prime Minister that none of them knew what was on the agenda and that all five days had been set aside for “government business.”
Possible Agenda of the Session
There may be conversations about India as a “developed nation,” according to government insiders’ report to a news source. Other subjects could cover Chandrayaan-3, the Moon mission, and the highly appreciated G20 Summit that was held last week in Delhi.
The Monsoon Sessions have just gotten over and the Winter Session is soon to commence. However, it is speculated, One Nation, One Election is speculated to be discussed in the special Parliament Session held from September 17 to September 22 as well.
One Nation, One Elections will ensure saving public money, and reduce the burden on administrative setup and security services and the Election Commission as well. It will also ensure timely implementation of government policies as well as strengthen administrative machinery to engage in developmental activities rather than electioneering. The sum total analysis of the voters will be more convenient and judgment of policies and programmes at both levels will be streamlined. The voters can compare manifestos and the governance that follows.
Moreover, governments are unable to solve long-term issues of their constituencies and adhere to their political duties as short-term goals take precedence due to round-the-year campaigning. Owing to this feature, governments tend to avoid taking harsh long-term decisions.
However, the reduction of terms will be the biggest violation of the Indian Federal Structure as India identifies itself as a quasi-federal country which means it is a holding-together federation. Tampering with usual terms will mean arbitrarily curtailing or extending the term of existing legislatures which goes against the autonomy of the states.
Please, also have a look into : Sonia Gandhi writes to PM Modi over Special Parliamentary Session
