Congress slams Modi govt for delay in Winter Session of Parliament

Party accuses govt of dodging questions, using Gujarat polls as delay tactic; demands firm dates from Centre

Parliament is set to have one of its shortest Winter Sessions since 1952, and the Congress on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of dodging questions.

The Congress party demanded to know from the Centre the dates for the Winter Session. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said there is a time-honoured tradition that the Winter Session is usually convened in the third week of November, but the Modi government was delaying it under the excuse that the Gujarat assembly elections were round the corner.

There was no word from the government. Senior members of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) said they were yet to be informed about the next meeting of the committee.

The CCPA decides the schedule of the nation, and the President convenes the session subsequently. Members of Parliament are issued summons 15-days before the commencement of any Parliament session.

The CCPA is headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. A CCPA member speculated that the dates could be decided at the meeting of the cabinet later this week. "Today it is the 13th of November 2017 and there is no sign of the Winter Session of Parliament," Tewari said.

"What is it that the NDA-BJP Government is so scared of that it is running away from convening Parliament Session? There are vital and burning issues, which loom over the national horizon," Tewari said.]

The Congress spokesperson said the government would be quizzed on one year of demonetisation and how it has impacted the Indian economy, the "failed implementation" of the goods and services tax (GST), the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, "failed policy towards Pakistan" and Doklam. He said there were larger issues of the "disrespect" the government has for institutions, like the Reserve Bank of India.