After the washout of the Budget session, 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”.
In the just concluded second part of the budget session of the Parliament Lok Sabha’s productivity has been at 4 per cent while Rajya Sabha’s stood at mere 8 per cent, according to Union Minister Ananth Kumar who squarely blamed Congress for making Parliament session unsuccessful. BJP MPs will be observing fast in their respective constituencies on April 12 to “expose” Congress party’s negative politics. “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,” Ramesh said. The Rajya Sabha member hoped that the chairman would consult with leaders 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.