- By Abhirupa Kundu
- Wed, 06 Sep 2023 04:46 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the Parliament's special session had been called without any prior discussion with the opposition and also sought details of the session's agenda. Gandhi wrote to the Prime Minister on behalf of 24 parties of the India Bloc who have agreed to participate in the special session of the parliament scheduled to begin on September 18.
"You have convened a special five-day session of the Parliament beginning 18 September 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," Sonia Gandhi wrote.
"All we have been 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," the letter read.
The decision was made during a floor leaders' meeting of the INDIA Bloc. The Floor Leaders of the Opposition's INDIA alliance held a meeting at Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge's Delhi residence.
The issues to be raised by the opposition parties in the Special Session of the Parliament will be given in writing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government through the letter written by Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Also Read: Parliament Special Session To Begin In Old Building On September 18
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the party had decided to not boycott the special session of Parliament as it is a chance for them to put forward the issues of the public and every party will try their best to put forth different issues.
"Nobody had any information about it...This is for the first time that we do not have any details for the agenda," he said.
The agenda for the special session has not been revealed yet. The five-day special session of the Parliament from September 18-22 was announced by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.
The INDIA bloc meeting took place amid the backdrop of the recent "India Vs Bharat" controversy which triggered a huge political row about the country's name change.
This came after official invites to heads of the foreign countries for a G20 dinner in Delhi on September 9 was drafted from the "President of Bharat" instead of the "President of India".
Meanwhile, the Centre on Saturday constituted an eight-member committee to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which concluded last month, was held in the old Parliament building. The announcement of the Special Session came as a surprise in political circles with the parties gearing up for assembly polls in five states later this year.