Special Session Of Parliament: Speculations Over One Nation, One Election Bill And Shifting To New Building

Following the announcement that a special session of the Parliament will be held from September 18-22, there have been speculations about its agenda.

That is because the government has not specified the agenda of the five-day session.

"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 5 sittings. Amid Amrit Kaal looking forward to have fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament," Union Minister Pralhad Joshi posted on X.

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 5 sittings. Amid Amrit Kaal looking forward to have fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament.

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¡ª Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) August 31, 2023

Special session of Parliament

It is still unclear if this will be a joint Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha session.

BCCL

With the government being secretive about the special session's agenda, many rumours are floating around.

The most prominent being the One Nation One Election Bill.

One nation, one election

With the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for early 2024, many have speculated that the government may introduce the One Nation One Election Bill, an idea Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about several times in the past.

BCCL

Assembly polls are also due in five states in November-December, and the government has thrown open the possibility of advancing the general elections and some state polls.

If this happens, the upcoming special session of the Parliament could be the last of the 17th Lok Sabha.

Ram Nath Kovind-led committee on One Nation One Election

Adding to this are the reports that the government has constituted a committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of one nation, one election.

Reuters

Special session to be held in new Parliament?

Another speculation is that the special session of the Parliament could be held in the new building.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated The new Parliament building on 28 May 2023. The monsoon session, which commenced on the 20th of July and held 17 sittings over 23 days before being adjourned sine die on the 11th of August, was held in the old building.

Twitter

Clash with Ganpati festival dates

However, the surprise announcement has not gone down well with the opposition.

On Thursday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant slammed the move, saying that the Ganpati festival will be celebrated during the same period.

"In the history of the Parliament, no session has taken place during a festival. During the days the Ganpati festival is celebrated, they have kept the sessions. This is their Hindutva," Sawant said.

Shows govt is panicking: Rahul Gandhi

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that maybe it is an indicator of a 'little panic'.

BCCL

"I think maybe it is an indicator of a little panic. The same type of panic that happened when I spoke in Parliament House, the panic that suddenly made them revoke my Parliament membership. So, I think it is panic because these matters are very close to the Prime Minister. Whenever you touch the Adani matter, the PM gets very uncomfortable and very nervous," he said.

Will we discuss China?: Owaisi

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said he hoped that the PM would allow a discussion on China.

"We had been demanding a special session from the beginning because China has encroached upon 2000 square km of India's land. China is not giving up Depsang and Demchok. When they call a special session, we hope the PM will allow a discussion on China," he said.

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