Parliament session all set to begin today, affairs to move to new building tomorrow

New Delhi: A session of Parliament is set to begin on Monday amid an intense buzz on whether the government will have some surprise item up its sleeve during the five-day sitting that will see a discussion on Parliament’s 75-year journey and House proceedings moving to the new building.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said a total of eight Bills have been listed for consideration and passage during the session.

Floor leaders were on Sunday informed at an all-party meet that a Bill on the welfare of senior citizens and three related to SC/ST order have been added to the agenda.

The Bills listed earlier include the one on the appointment of chief election commissioner and election commissioners.

The Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha during the last Monsoon session and has drawn protests from the Opposition as it seeks to put service conditions of the chief election commissioner and two election commissioners on par with the cabinet secretary and not a Supreme Court judge, as is the case now. This is being seen as a downgrade in their stature.

Several opposition leaders on Sunday dubbed the Bill as “anti-Constitution” and “anti-democratic”.

They spoke against the Bill at an all-party meeting convened by the government on the eve of the five-day Parliament session beginning Monday.

Moreover, several political parties, including from the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc, on Sunday made a strong pitch for the passage of the women’s reservation Bill during the five-day Parliament session.

The demand for discussing issues like caste census, price rise, unemployment, border row involving China, Manipur situation and alleged social conflicts at some places was raised by the Congress, its leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters. A few other opposition parties also spoke in the same vein on some of these matters.

However, it was the vigorous pitch for legislating reserved seats for women in elected bodies like Lok Sabha and state assemblies that emerged as the highlight of the meeting as BJP ally and NCP leader Praful Patel joined the Congress and its allies besides unaligned parties like the BRS, TDP and the BJD to urge the government to script history on the momentous occasion of Parliament’s shift to the new building.

The TMC noted the relatively large contingent of women MPs in West Bengal’s ruling party, as it supported the need for such a bill.

“A new era is beginning,” BJD MP Pinaki Misra said about Parliament’s shift to the new building, asserting it will be a fitting occasion for ensuring women’s reservation. He cited Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s longstanding support to the idea.

Patel said he was hopeful that such a bill would be passed with consensus.

Some regional parties such as the RJD and the Samajwadi Party, though, made a case for quota for backward castes, SCs and STs within any such reservation for women.

Asked about the demand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi downplayed it, saying parties make different demands during all-party meetings. “The government will take an appropriate decision at an appropriate time,” he told reporters.

A similar bill was passed by Rajya Sabha in 2010, reserving one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies. It was never taken up in Lok Sabha and has since lapsed with the dissolution of the then Lower House.

The minister said tributes were paid at the all-party meeting to security forces personnel who laid down their lives in Kashmir as leaders observed silence in their memory.

The minister said 51 leaders from 34 parties attended the meeting in which the government sought the cooperation of all the parties for a smooth conduct of the five-day session.

Joshi said a discussion on “Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha - Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings” will take place in the old building on Monday before the ceremony of entering the new building a day later.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to speak on the matter in Parliament.

The government’s work in the new building will begin from Wednesday, he said, adding that there are a total of eight bills on its agenda.

DMK leader Tiruchi Siva accused the government of keeping other parties in the dark about the reason for calling the session, wondering what was the need for a regular sitting of Parliament when the Winter session was due in November.

He wondered if the schedule for a group photo of all MPs on Tuesday meant that this was the last session of this Lok Sabha.

Opposition sources said Siva tore the schedule for today’s event in the meeting, claiming that he received the invite only on Friday night and the programme was only in Hindi.

BRS leader K Keshava Rao, sources said, criticised the ruling BJP over the Sanatan Dharma issue.

Some opposition leaders also protested the decision to not have the Question Hour and the Zero Hour during this session. A demand was also made to revoke the suspension of two AAP MPs, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the deputy leader of the House in Lok Sabha, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi were among those who represented the government in the meeting.

Former prime minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda, DMK’s Kanimozhi, TDP’s Ram Mohan Naidu, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, BJD’s Sasmit Patra, BRS’ K Keshava Rao, YSR Congress Party’s V Vijayasai Reddy, RJD’s Manoj Jha and JD(U)’s Anil Hegde and SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav were also among those who attended the meeting.

Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar hoisted the national flag at the new Parliament building on Sunday morning and Joshi said that after a ceremony at the Central Hall of the existing building, the session will move to the new building.

According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, the function will commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India and resolve to make Bharat a developed nation by 2047.

The government’s legislative business will commence from September 20 in the new building.

All members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been called for a group photograph on Tuesday morning.

According to the bulletin issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, all MPs have been called for a group photograph at 9.30 am on Tuesday. An official said arrangements are in place at the inner courtyard of the old building for the group photo.

MPs were also being issued new identity cards to enter the new Parliament building.

The catering will also shift to the new building on September 19, the officials said.

The unusual timing of the session has left everyone wondering, even though the main standout feature on the listed agenda is a special discussion on Parliament’s journey of 75 years starting from the “Samvidhan Sabha” (Constituent Assembly).

The government enjoys the prerogative of tabling in Parliament some new legislation or other items that might not have been part of the listed agenda.

Various departments of parliamentary staff are all set to don new uniforms in a signal from the government that the shift to the new building is likely to be marked with a fresh start in more ways than one.

The successful G20 Summit in the national capital under India’s presidency has added to Modi’s appeal and is set to be a major talking point of the treasury benches during the session.

The new dress code with floral motif for a section of staff has already kicked up a political row, with the Congress dubbing it as a “cheap” tactic to promote the ruling party’s poll symbol - the lotus flower.

While announcing the session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi had described it as “special session”. But the government had later made it clear that it was a regular session, 13th session of the present Lok Sabha and 261st session of Rajya Sabha.

Besides the discussion on Parliamentary Journey, the other listed business for Lok Sabha includes ‘The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023’ and ‘The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023’, already passed by Rajya Sabha on 3 August 2023.

Besides, ‘The Post Office Bill, 2023’ has also been listed in the Lok Sabha business, according to an official bulletin. The Bill was earlier introduced in Rajya Sabha on 10 August 2023.

The discussion on parliamentary journey will be held simultaneously in both the Houses.