Special session: Move to new Parliament building tomorrow, Govt lists eight Bills
A bulletin issued on Sunday asked members to assemble in Central Hall of Parliament at 11 am on Tuesday “for a function to commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India and resolve to make Bharat a developed nation by 2047.”
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The new Parliament building on Sunday, a day before the special session begins. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
On the eve of the five-day special session of Parliament which begins on Monday, the government announced that House proceedings would move to the new Parliament building on Tuesday, and said eight Bills have been listed for consideration and passage.
There was, however, no clarity on whether the government would take up the contentious Bill which seeks to change the method of appointment and conditions of service of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, was among four Bills listed for the session by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Wednesday, which said the two Houses would discuss the “Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha — Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings”.
However, the EC Bill, which was introduced in Rajya Sabha on August 10, was missing from the list circulated by the government at the all-party meeting convened by the government on Sunday. With the Opposition parties objecting to the Bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi is learnt to have said at the meeting that the government was yet to decide on bringing it.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Joshi said: “On the first day, the session will be held in the old Parliament House. The next day, i.e. on September 19, there will be a photo session in the old Parliament House, then there will be a function in Central Hall at 11 am. After that, we will enter the new Parliament. The Parliament session will be held in the new Parliament House on September 19 and regular parliamentary work will begin from September 20.”
A bulletin issued on Sunday asked members to assemble in Central Hall of Parliament at 11 am on Tuesday “for a function to commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India and resolve to make Bharat a developed nation by 2047.”
The Opposition leaders were informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge will be on the dais at the function in Central Hall.
The EC Bill envisages setting up a high-powered selection committee, headed by the Prime Minister and including Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Cabinet minister for appointing the CEC and ECs, and seeks to downgrade the service conditions of the three ECs by proposing to align their salary, allowance and service conditions with those of a Cabinet Secretary – currently, these are equivalent to those of a Supreme Court Judge.
At the all-party meeting, Opposition leaders are learnt to have objected to these clauses, saying they don’t support any intervention that would affect the independence of the poll panel. They unitedly asked the government not to bring the Bill, calling it “anti-constitutional” and “anti-democratic.
The Opposition leaders also questioned the “secrecy” over the agenda, pointing out that the tentative list of business circulated earlier had a line saying it was not an “exhaustive” list. They made a strong pitch to bring the women’s reservation Bill, and to keep aside one day for discussion of issues raised by the Opposition.
While the government did not respond to the demand, the Opposition leaders suggested that if a Bill to reserve seats for women in Parliament and legislative bodies was introduced, parties should be given the right to decide which seats should be reserved. Otherwise, they said, it could be used to keep senior leaders away from their traditional constituencies.
While most of the parties supported a women’s quota Bill, the SP and BSP reiterated their demand for a quota within quota for SC and ST communities.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded discussions on issues outlined in a letter that Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi had written to Modi earlier this month.
“Only the government knows what its intention is. It may surprise everyone with some new agenda,” Chowdhury said, adding that the Congress raised issues such as price rise, unemployment and the situation on the border at the all-party meeting.
“There is still no full agenda for the session. There is a sinister line in the Parliament bulletin which says the ‘statement not to be taken as exhaustive’. This means the government can bring more Bills. Why are they not taking Parliament into confidence. There is still no clarity,” TMC leader Derek O’Brien said.
The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and attended by Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal.
Meanwhile, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar hoisted the national flag at the new Parliament building on Sunday morning.
At the all-party meeting later, which lasted for about two-and-a-half hours, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva tore up the programme circulated by the Lok Sabha Secretariat for the flag-hoisting function, saying the itinerary was only given in Hindi. He said he had urged the government to circulate such papers in both English and Hindi. Some MPs complained that they had received the invitation only on Friday evening.
CPI’s Binoy Viswam asked whether the government was planning any religious function while moving into the new Parliament building. “India is a secular country. There should not be any religious function while moving into the new building,” he said.
Most of the Opposition leaders asked whether it was a “special session” or “normal session”. They argued that if it was a normal session, members had the right to seek question hour and zero hour.
Ever since the government sprang a surprise by announcing the special session, just over a month after the Monsoon Session ended, speculation has been rife over what could be on its agenda.
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