Pralhad Joshi responds to Sonia Gandhi's letter to PM Modi; says politicising functioning of Parliament

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday responded to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which she had claimed no agenda had been listed for the special session of parliament that will begin on September 18. 

In a letter directed to Sonia Gandhi, Pralhad Joshi expressed his disappointment that she is attempting to politicise the operations of Parliament, which is considered the cornerstone of our democracy, and generating unwarranted controversy in a situation where none exists.

"It is very unfortunate that despite being a senior parliamentarian, former Congress President Smt. Gandhi is trying to create unnecessary controversy regarding the upcoming session of Parliament. It is the constitutional right of the Government of India to call a session of Parliament. I hope that all the parties will extend their full cooperation in maintaining the dignity of the Parliament. Our government is always ready to discuss any issue," he wrote on Twitter along with a copy of the letter addressed to the Congress leader.

The letter stated, "As you are aware, Parliament sessions are held regularly in compliance with the constitutional mandate under Article 85, which provides that the President may, from time to time, convene each House of Parliament at such time and place as he thinks fit. Shall convene a meeting, but there shall not be an interval of six months between its last meeting in one session and the date fixed for its first meeting in the next session."

"I would also like to say that our government is always ready to discuss any issue. By the way, all the issues which you have mentioned were raised during the discussion on the no-confidence motion during the monsoon session shortly before and the government had also responded to them," the letter further noted.

Joshi added, "The agenda of the session will, as usual, be circulated at the appropriate time as per established practice. I would also like to point out again that in our parliamentary functioning, irrespective of which party is in government, till date the agenda has never been circulated in advance at the time of convening the Parliament."

"I have full confidence that the dignity of Parliament will be maintained and this platform will not be used for political disputes. Additionally, I look forward to your full cooperation in running the upcoming session smoothly resulting in meaningful results in the national interest," he stated.

Earlier, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi penned a letter to PM Modi, highlighting the absence of a specified agenda for the upcoming special Parliament session. In her letter, she proposed nine topics for discussion, which encompass concerns such as the situation in Manipur, escalating prices, and various other issues.

The subjects outlined by Gandhi encompass matters related to the relationship between the central and state governments, the increase in incidents of communal tensions, border incursions by China, and the request for the establishment of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to scrutinize the transactions of the Adani business group in light of numerous disclosures.

"I must point out that this special session has been convened without any 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," Sonia Gandhi said in her letter today.

"I earnestly hope that in a spirit of constructive cooperation, these issues will be taken up in the forthcoming special session," she added.

A day after the usage of "Bharat" instead of "India" in official G20 Summit invitations caused a stir, there is now speculation about a potential name change for the country. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra recently shared a document referring to the Prime Minister as the "Prime Minister of Bharat."

Reports indicate that the government might propose a resolution to change the country's name later this month during the five-day special session of parliament. Curiously, the government has not yet disclosed any specific agenda for this special session, adding to the intrigue.

The special parliamentary session is scheduled to take place from September 18 to 22. It will commence in the old parliament building and transition to the new one on September 19.