The Government may convene the Winter Session of Parliament from December 15, a day after the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls, even as the Congress and the BJP engaged in a slugfest over ‘the delay’ in announcing the session.
Though a final schedule will be announced by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh-headed Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), the Government may be contemplating starting the session soon after the completion of voting on December 9 and December 14 for the 182 seats of Gujarat Assembly, sources said. The CCPA met on Wednesday to discuss the issue.
The session may be held from December 15 till January 5, sources said.
Briefing the reporters after the CCPA meeting , Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Winter Session schedule would be such that it does not overlap with the assembly elections, and it is a ‘regular’ session.
He said in a democracy when elections were on, political parties addressed the people directly. “Normally the elections and Parliament session don’t overlap. Therefore, we are going to ensure that a regular Winter Session is held, but elections and session dates don’t overlap,” he said.
In a swipe at the Congress, Jaitley said the Gujarat polls were important for the BJP and it would be busy campaigning there, but he was not sure whether its opponents would be busy in the campaigning or not.
Asked whether a session which begins in December can continue in January without the customary address of the President, Jaitley said the issue was settled long back. He said if the session spilled over to January, it would not be considered a fresh session. The President addressed the first session of a calendar year, the minister said.
The officials indicated that the dates of the Winter Session would be formally announced after two Ordinances placed before the Cabinet on Wednesday were promulgated. An ordinance cannot be issued when the dates of the session are announced.
Earlier, amid a war of words between BJP and Congress over the delay in convening the winter session of Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar had on Tuesday said the Government would call the session in December. The party also denounced Congress for making it appear like the session was being delayed for the first time.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi had charged the Modi-Government with sabotaging the Winter session while two central ministers Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad rejected the charge saying the Winter session was re-scheduled many a time during the Congress regimes. Prasad said Congress was anticipating defeat in Gujarat polls and hence looking for ready excuses for losing the elections.
The Winter session is usually held from the middle of November till the third week of December.