Cong questions delay in Lok Sabha prorogation, raises delimitation bill
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New Delhi: The Congress has questioned the delay in proroguing the Lok Sabha, 10 days after the House was adjourned sine die, and asked whether the government is once again attempting to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill linked to delimitation.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh raised the issue in a post on X on Sunday.
“The time gap between the adjournment of the Lok Sabha sine die and its prorogation is generally two to four days – although there are many instances when adjournment and prorogation have taken place on the very same day. Ten days have gone by since this Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die but still there is no information on its prorogation,” Ramesh said.
He noted that the gap was 28 days after the Monsoon Session in 2015 and 20 days in 2021, but questioned the reason for the current delay.
“It is true that the gap for the Monsoon session in 2015 was 28 days and in 2021 it was 20 days. But there were no diabolical moves afoot then. What explains the abnormal delay now? Is the Union Home Minister still in search of his बहुकलंकित 2/3rd majority to get the Constitutional Amendment Bill on Delimitation passed in a Special Session?” Ramesh asked.
Ramesh also shared photographs of extracts from Practice and Procedure of Parliament by M.N. Kaul and S.L. Shakdher.
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The book states that the President terminates a session of Parliament under Article 85(2) on the advice of the Prime Minister, with the Cabinet potentially being consulted before the advice is submitted.
It also says that prorogation “may take place any time, even while the House is sitting”, but “usually… follows the adjournment of the sitting of the House sine die”.
The extracts shared by Ramesh state that the gap between the adjournment of the Lok Sabha sine die and its prorogation is generally two to four days, although there have also been instances when both have taken place on the same day.
The book further explains that the period between prorogation and the reassembly of the House for a new session is known as the “inter-session period”.
By sharing the extracts, Ramesh highlighted that prorogation, rather than adjournment, formally brings a parliamentary session to an end and clears the way for the next session to be convened.
The Modi government had, for the first time, failed to pass its delimitation-linked Bill on women's reservation in April after it could not secure the required two-thirds majority in the House.
