Pralhad Joshi Responds to Sonia Gandhi’s Letter on Special Session

Hours after receiving the letter from Congress leader Sonia Gandhi addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the agenda of the special session of Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday responded to the leader saying that it was unfortunate of her to try to politicize the functioning of Parliament, the temple of our democracy and create unnecessary controversy where there is none.

The letter addressed to Gandhi stated, “As you are aware, Parliament sessions are held regularly in compliance with the constitutional mandate under Article 85, which provides that the President may, from time to time, convene each House of parliament at such time and place as he thinks fit. Shall convene a meeting, but there shall not be an interval of six months between its last meeting in one session and the date fixed for its first meeting in the next session.”

“I would also like to say that our government is always ready to discuss any issue. By the way, all the issues which you have mentioned were raised during the discussion on the no-confidence motion during the monsoon session shortly before and the government had also responded to them,” it added.

Meanwhile, responding to Gandhi’s question on agenda, the letter read, “The agenda of the session will, as usual, be circulated at the appropriate time as per established practice. I would also like to point out again that in our parliamentary functioning, irrespective of which party is in government, till gate the agenda has never been circulated in advance at the time of convening the Parliament,”

“I have full confidence that the dignity of Parliament will be maintained and this platform will not be used for political disputes. Additionally, I look forward to your full cooperation in running the upcoming session smoothly resulting in meaningful results in the national interest,” it further said.

Earlier today, expressing strong displeasure over the upcoming special five-day session of the Parliament convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, beginning September 18, 2023, Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party drew attention to the fact that no other political parties were consulted before calling the special session.

Gandhi also stated that Congress is ready to participate in the Special Session because it will give them an opportunity to raise matters of public concern and importance.

Also Read: “None of Us Have Any Idea of Its Agenda”: Sonia Writes to PM Seeking Deets of Special Session