Special Parliament session called by govt between Sep 18- 22

New Delhi: Parliament will meet in special session for five days from September 18 to 22, the government said on Thursday, according to Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi.

The session, which will take place in the nation's capital days after the G20 Summit (September 9, 10) has not yet been given an official agenda.

"Special Session of Parliament (13th Session of 17th Lok Sabha and 261st Session of Rajya Sabha) is being called from 18th to 22nd September having five sittings. Amid Amrit Kaal looking forward to having fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament," Joshi said on X.

Sources said the special session could see parliamentary operations being shifted to the new Parliament building which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28.

Final touches are being given to the new Parliament building to make it ready to host sessions.

Generally, three parliamentary sessions are held in a year- Budget, Monsoon and Winter sessions.

With the government not spelling out its agenda, speculation swirled about some showpiece bills being considered for passage by the Modi dispensation in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

The recent historic success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and India's goals for 'Amrit Kaal' may be part of the wider discussions during the special session.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the five-day session just three weeks after the end of the Monsoon session was aimed at managing "the news cycle" and countering the news about the ongoing meeting of INDIA parties in Mumbai and the latest revelations on Adani.

"Regardless, the JPC demand (on the Adani issue) will continue to resonate inside and outside Parliament," the Congress MP added.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said on 'X' that the special session called during "India's most important festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is unfortunate and goes against the Hindu sentiments. Surprised at their choice of dates."

Incidentally, the special session is being convened a day after the birthday of Modi.

The BJP observes the 16-day period from Modi's birthday to Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 as 'sewa pakhwara' during which various programmes are held across the country.

Last time, Parliament had met outside its three usual sessions was at midnight on June 30, 2017, to mark the rollout of GST.

However, it was a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and was not a proper session as is the case this time with both the Houses assembling.

A six-day special sitting was held in August 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of India's independence.

Midnight sessions were also been held on August 9, 1992, for the 50th anniversary of the 'Quit India Movement', August 14-15, 1972 to celebrate the silver jubilee of India's independence, while the first such session was on August 14-15, 1947 on the eve of India's independence.

The Monsoon session of Parliament ended on August 11.

With PTI inputs