'Skittish' government announced Monsoon Session, says TMC's Derek O'Brien

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) A "skittish" government announced the dates for the Monsoon Session of Parliament "hurriedly" amid demands for a Special Session on Operation Sindoor, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said, and compared the Centre's move with the country's first prime minister's abiding with a similar request after the 1962 war.

In 1962, Jawaharlal Nehru called a session of Parliament on the demand of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a first-time Rajya Sabha MP at the time, he said.

In an article published on his blog, O'Brien, the leader of Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha, pointed out that leaders from 17 political parties wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week demanding a Special Session of Parliament.

The opposition MPs said they wanted to discuss the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, India's retaliatory action - Operation Sindoor, the death of civilians in border areas due to shelling, and the claim by US President Donald Trump of having brokered peace between India and Pakistan.

"Within hours of doing so, a skittish government hurriedly announced the dates for a regular monsoon session starting July 21, seemingly turning down the demand for a special session," he said.

"Normally, the lead time to announce a Parliament session (the number of days between announcement and commencement) has been around 20 days or less. The upcoming monsoon session has been announced 47 days in advance!" he said.

"It is another story if the government has what could be called 'Parliament-ophobia' (noun) — the acute condition that is a morbid fear of facing Parliament," he added.

O'Brien said even though there is no mention of a special session in the rulebook, there are numerous precedents.

"In 1972, a sitting was convened to celebrate 25 years of Independence. In 1992, Parliament held a midnight session to mark 50 years of the Quit India Movement. In 1997, a special session was called to commemorate 50 years of the Republic.

"During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the Leader of the Opposition, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then a first-time Rajya Sabha MP, demanded a special session. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to this request, and the session was held when the active conflict was still on: 165 members participated in the debate, an open discussion on the war and government policy," he said.

O'Brien alleged that in the past 15 years, many parliamentary precedents have been ignored.

He cited the example of the position of the Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha being vacant since 2019, fewer bills going for scrutiny to Parliamentary committees, and Opposition MPs being denied the right to electronic voting during the passage of crucial bills like the Farm Laws.

"Since 2014, three special sessions have been convened. One, in 2015, a two-day session, to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution in 1949.

"Two, in 2017, a midnight session, to introduce the Goods and Services Tax.

"In 2023, a five-day session, to mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building. The Women's Reservation Bill was also passed in the same session," he said.

"These sessions to mark celebratory milestones are welcome. But the great halls of Parliament have to go beyond symbolism and anniversaries," the TMC leader added. PTI AO VN VN