Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has urged Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to persuade the government to convene a special session of Parliament in May-June to pass important legislations and debate issues of national importance.
In a letter to the chairman, he said the special session would send a different signal and help retrieve the lost prestige of Parliament due to the complete washout of the Budget Session.
Why don't you try and persuade the government to convene a special two-week session in late May or early June to both pass important legislations and also have debate and discussion on burning political, economic and social issues? Ramesh said in the letter.
He, however, made it clear that his suggestion was purely in my personal capacity.
I'm aware that the Monsoon Session will be called sometime in mid-July but a special session sends a different signal. There is no doubt that the complete washout has inflicted great damage to Parliament as an institution, he said.
The Rajya Sabha member hoped that the chairman would consult with leaders of all political parties to ensure that this did not happen again.
Ramesh also lauded Naidu for being careful about not putting the entire blame on anyone and instead called it a collective failure.
He said he agreed with Naidu on this, but added that it was the government's responsibility to communicate and engage in a meaningful and serious dialogue with all political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament.
That was very much in absence in recent weeks. In fact, it has been absent all through the past four years, he alleged.
The second part of the Budget Session of Parliament was washed out after differences between the government and the opposition while discussing key issues.
Both the opposition and the government have blamed each other for the washout and are holding day- long fasts across the country as a mark of protest.
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