As the dilemma over the prorogation of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament remains unresolved, Government sources have indicated the Winter Session of Parliament will be convened in the first week of December. Sources said that while an extended sitting of the existing session requires a minimum notice of two days, convening a fresh session requires at least 14 days’ notice; a call for both options will be made in a day or two, to be announced by the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The Government is keen to push through the Constitution amendment on the women’s reservation bill, which seeks to expand the Lok Sabha’s strength from the existing 543 seats to a maximum of 850 through delimitation, paving the way for the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and State legislatures ahead of the 2029 general elections.
The confusion after the Monsoon Session sine die on August 13 prevailed due to the proposed delimitation-linked women’s reservation bill emerging as the government’s biggest legislative priority amid an increasingly confrontational political atmosphere over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Government’s decision to keep the Monsoon session alive without formally proroguing has fuelled speculation about the timing and conduct of the next sitting. The Monsoon session was adjourned sine die (for an indefinite period) on August 13 and has remained unprorogued for 94 days, surpassing the previous record of 87 days set in 2008. The Constitution does not prescribe a specific timeframe for proroguing a House after it has been adjourned sine die.
The bill requires a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, or 361 votes in the present 543-member House. With three vacancies, the House has 540 members. The ruling NDA has 320 members and would need the support of Opposition parties to cross the threshold.
Opposition parties led by Congress have stepped up their campaign against the SIR and have been demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. The controversy is leading to protests in the Parliament, either during the special sitting of the existing Monsoon Session or the Winter Session. The constitutional amendment bill requires the House in order.
The arrangement has kept open the possibility of an extended or special sitting to take up the proposed constitutional amendment at short notice.
The Government is learnt to be exploring a formula under which Lok Sabha seats would be increased by 50 per cent across States to address concerns, particularly among southern states, over the implications of delimitation.
The proposed legislation failed to secure the requisite numbers during a special sitting of Parliament on April 17, making its fate in the winter session a key political and legislative test for the Government.