According to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday, the government has called a special session of Parliament that will last for five days from September 18–22, 2023. The special session, which will take place in the country's capital on September 9 and 10, days after the G20 Summit, has not yet been given an official agenda. Pralhad Joshi stated on X (previously Twitter) that he was anticipating productive discussions and debate in Parliament amid Amrit Kaal.

Political circles were taken aback by the announcement of the Special Session as the parties prepared for the upcoming assembly elections in five states later this year. 

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This is the first such special session held during the nine years of the Modi-led administration, which called for a special joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to commemorate the midnight launch of the GST on June 30, 2017. While both Houses will meet separately as they typically do during sessions, this time it will be a full-fledged five-day session. Budget, Monsoon, and Winter sessions of the legislature are typically held three times per year.

Elections for the Lok Sabha early?

After the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs made the announcement, rumors about the five-day session's agenda started to spread. According to news agency ANI, one of the agenda items that had been theorized was the dissolution of the current Parliament and the announcement of early Lok Sabha elections. But if early Lok Sabha elections were indeed on the agenda, calling a special session of Parliament was not necessary. This decision could instead be made by the cabinet. 

However, according to sources, the BJP government may have planned to highlight its accomplishments over the previous five years and explain to the populace during a parliament session why it was necessary to hold snap elections in addition to the state elections that were planned for this year.

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However, sources told ANI that all of this is just conjecture and that no one is entirely certain of the schedule for the parliament session that will take place the following month.

A discussion of the recent accomplishments of the Centre, such as the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the G20 Leaders' summit in Delhi, under PM Modi's second term, which has been dubbed "Amrit Kaal," a term used to denote a "Golden" period of governance, was one of the other agenda items on this speculative list. The 'One Nation, One Election' bill, which would allow for simultaneous state and general elections, was also on the list of potential agenda items.

Opposition to a special session of parliament

Rahul Gandhi, a Congressman, suggested on Thursday that it might be a sign of a "little panic." "I speculate that it might be a sign of mild panic. They suddenly decided to revoke my membership in Parliament due to the same panic that occurred when I spoke in Parliament House, a Congress leader claimed in Mumbai. Rahul Gandhi stated during a press conference in Mumbai that Prime Minister Modi is "uncomfortable" and "very nervous" about issues like the accusations against the Adani Group because they are "very close" to him.

"The Central Government doesn't consult anyone and it doesn't talk to any political party," Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said.Democracy is being stifled by the central government in this way.

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However, the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the allegations against the Adani Group will continue to reverberate both inside and outside of Parliament, according to a post by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on X in response to the development. "Modi-style news cycle management. 1. The Modani-scam scandal's most recent revelations have dominated today's news. 2. The ever-expanding INDIA parties convene in Mumbai tomorrow. How can one react? When the Monsoon session had just ended three weeks prior, call a 5-day special session of Parliament. The JPC demand will nonetheless continue to be heard both inside and outside of Parliament, he said.

Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of AIMIM and a member of the Lok Sabha, said, "We hope the PM will allow a discussion on China."