'Why this abnormal gap?' Cong questions delay in prorogation of Monsoon Session

The Congress party has raised concerns over the "abnormal" delay in proroguing the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Typically, there is a gap of two to four days between adjourning and proroguing the session, but the Monsoon Session, which was adjourned on August 13, has yet to be closed. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh suggested that the delay could be due to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's ongoing effort to secure a two-thirds majority for the Constitutional amendment bill related to delimitation, which would require passage in a special session.

However, the government has denied any plans to convene a special session. Since the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on August 13, ten days have passed without any information on its prorogation. While previous sessions had prorogation gaps of 28 days in 2015 and 20 days in 2021, the current delay is unprecedented. Ramesh speculated that the Union Home Minister might still be searching for a majority to pass the delimitation bill in a special session.

The Monsoon Session, which began on July 20, remains unresolved due to disagreements between the government and the Opposition on issues such as police brutality against students and the theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.