New Delhi: The government has called an all-party meeting on Sunday evening, just hours before the commencement of a five-day special session of the Parliament.
During the meeting, the participants may deliberate on the agenda for the upcoming special session, as reports had previously indicated that it would begin in the old Parliament building and later transition to the new one on September 19.
The announcement of the special session received criticism from opposition leaders, primarily due to its lack of clarity regarding the agenda. Many of them also criticized the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for scheduling this session on a date that coincides with what they consider “India’s most important festival” – Ganesh Chaturthi, which is set to be celebrated on Tuesday.
“The decision to call this special session during the significant Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is unfortunate and appears to disregard Hindu sentiments. The selection of these dates has come as a surprise.” Shiv Sena UBT’s Priyanka Chaturvedi said while Supriya Sule from the Nationalist Congress Party urged that the session be rescheduled.
Meanwhile, Former Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting that this special session was called without prior consultation with other political parties.
“None of us have any idea of its agenda… all we have been communicated is that all five days have been allocated for ‘government business’,” she told the Prime Minister, urging him to engage in discussions regarding subjects such as the relationship between the central government and states, the rise of communalism, and the ongoing border dispute with China. This dispute was aggravated recently due to Beijing’s publication of a new map.