 "Parliament, New parliament building")
The five-day special session of the Parliament will kick off today. The tentative agenda of the session was announced last week by the government. It includes legislation at various stages of the discussion already in the Parliament.
Parliament special session: When was it announced
On August 31, the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi announced that a special session will be held from September 18 to 22. He said that "important items" were on the agenda.
Who decides when the Parliament will meet?
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs takes the decision on when to hold a session. Currently, the committee has ten ministers. These include those for Defence, Home, Finance, Agriculture, Tribal Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, and Information & Broadcasting.
Some special invitees to the session include the law minister and the Minister of State for External Affairs. The members of the Parliament are summoned by the President to meet for the session.
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What does the Constitution say about the Parliament's sessions?
According to the Constitution of India, two sessions must be held within a year. It was originally taken from the Government of India Act, of 1935 and the gap was later reduced to six months by the Constituent Assembly.
What is a special session of the Parliament?
This is a session which is convened for specific occasions. However, the Constitution does not mention the "special session".
Only once, in the provisions for emergency in Article 352, the Constitution refers to a "special sitting of the House".
Special session and the new Parliament
The main highlight of the session will be that it will be the first one to be held in the new building of the Parliament. The Centre will likely hold the session from September 19 in the new building. On Sunday, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar hoisted the national flag at the "Gaja Dwar" of the new Parliament building.
Agenda of the special session of Parliament
Centre has listed a special discussion on Parliament's 75-year journey, starting from the Samvidhan Sabha that first met on December 9, 1946, on the first day of the special session.
A discussion on "Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha - Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings" will be held in Parliament on the first day of the five-sitting long special session.
Four bills, including a Bill to regulate the appointment, conditions of service, and term of office of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, are part of the government's legislative business for the session.
Apart from the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, introduced in Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon session on August 10, the list includes "The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023" and "The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023", already passed by Rajya Sabha on August 3, 2023.
The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023, amends the Advocates Act, of 1961, while the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023 repeals the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867.
"The Post Office Bill, 2023" has also been listed in the Lok Sabha business. The bill was earlier introduced in Rajya Sabha on August 10, 2023, and it repeals the Indian Post Office Act, 1898.
The bill on the election commissioner deals with the procedure for the transaction of business by the Election Commission. Besides, it proposes that the President will appoint the Election Commissioners on the recommendation of a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will chair the panel.
The bill, if it comes into effect, will negate the Supreme Court's March 2023 judgement that held that the appointment of Election Commissioners will be done by the President on the advice of a panel comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India. However, in its judgement, the apex court had held that the procedure underlined by it would hold until Parliament enacted a law.
Special session of Parliament: All party meeting convened on Sunday
Usually, ahead of a Parliamentary session, the Centre convenes an all-party meeting to discuss the agenda. The meeting for the special session took place on Sunday at the Parliament Library. The Cabinet and the members of the Opposition attended it.
These included former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief Vaiko, Tiruchi N Siva and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader V Sivadasan.
(With agency inputs)
