Cong's Jairam Naresh calls for special Parliament session

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Naresh has written a letter to Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, seeking a special two-week session in May-June with an aim to "pass important legislation."

"I am aware that the Monsoon Session will be called sometime in mid-July, but a special session sends a different message altogether," read the letter.

"There is no doubt that the complete washout has inflicted great damage on Parliament as an institution, and I think a special session may help retrieve some of its lost prestige," added Naresh in his letter to Naidu.

Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) took a jibe at the Congress party over their demand for another session.

"First they do not let the session run, now they are asking for another session? Do they want salaries and allowances again?," Vijay Goel told ANI.

The entire session of the Parliament was washed out owing to disruptions in the functioning of the House. Both the opposition Congress Party and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party blamed one another for disruptions.

In its wake, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar on Friday announced that the MPs of the BJP-NDA alliance parties would not claim their salaries and allowance for 23 days as the Parliament did not function.

Holding the Congress party responsible for the Parliament washout in the second phase of the Budget Session, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) also decided to go on a hunger strike on April 12.

The Telugu Desam Party, however, blamed the BJP for the disruptions, saying it was practising divide and rule method to run away from providing special status to Andhra Pradesh promised by the National Democratic Alliance.