Khushi Bhuta, Pune
An all-party meeting has been scheduled for September 17, the day before the commencement of the special session of Parliament, by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.
The minister announced the meeting on social networking platform X, formerly Twitter, by writing, “Ahead of the parliament session from the 18th of this month, an all-party floor leaders meeting has been convened on the 17th at 4.30 PM.”
There have been speculations on the agendas of the special session of parliament, including a proposal to rename India as Bharat to the ‘One Nation One Election’ plan, women’s reservation bill, uniform civil code, and simultaneous polls. The prospect of a name change being on the agenda of the special session is caused by the government’s insistence on using Bharat instead of India in official engagements, including the recently finished G20 Summit.
While parliament sessions entailing the Budget, Monsoon, and Winter sessions are typically held three times per year, a special session is scheduled for the first time during the nine years of the current central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both Houses will convene separately as they typically do during sessions and it will be a full-fledged five-day session.
The BJP-led federal government has come under fire from the opposition for breaking established precedents by calling a special session of Parliament without making the agenda public.
Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week to urge a discussion and debate on a number of topics, including the nation’s current economic predicament. Gandhi claimed that no other political parties were consulted before the meeting and that none of them knew what would be on the agenda. The agenda for the session, however, was never revealed when the dates for any Parliament session were announced, according to the government, which accused Sonia of politicking the matter.
During this session, it is additionally expected that the location of Parliament proceedings will change from the old to the new building. As the special session gets underway the following week, the staff of the Parliament will be seen wearing new uniforms. New uniforms will be worn by marshals, drivers, cops, and security employees.