Seldom has the issue of a Parliament session proved to be so contentious. Parliament had vigorously debated the last three wars, in 1962, 1965 and 1971. The Parliament session in 1962, which was to begin on November 19, was brought forward to November 8 in the light of the Chinese aggression. In 1965, Parliament was in session during the war.

This was also the case in 1971, when Indira Gandhi rushed to the Lok Sabha to inform Parliament. News of Pakistan's declaration of war hadreached her as she was leaving Calcutta for the capital. "Immediately on my return, I took counsel with my colleagues and with the leaders of the Opposition parties," she told the Lok Sabha. "We were all of one mind. I am sure the same sense of solidarity will mark our work in the difficult days ahead." Journalists who had accompanied Indira Gandhi on the trip to Calcutta recall how she had dictated letters to world leaders explaining India's position even before the plane landed at Delhi's Palam Airport.

In 1962, faced with pressure from within the Congress (Mahavir Tyagi told Nehru at the Congress Parliamentary Party meet that if Defence Minister Krishna Menon did not quit, the PM himself would have to go), Menon had resigned. Opposition leaders, including Atal Behari Vajpayee, had ripped into the government for its unpreparedness and naivete, even as they expressed solidarity with the war effort. "This is a life and death battle for us and we have to emerge victorious from it," Vajpayee had thundered inthe Rajya Sabha on Nov 9, 1962. "But the first precondition of victory is that we go in for self-introspection." He went on to castigate the Nehru government for its failure.

Lal Bahadur Shastri had a rough time in 1965, with the Opposition taking him to task for the loss of territory. At one stage the debate became so acrimonious that one member, Bagri from Hissar, had to be suspended. Opposition leaders voted against the motion moved by Shastri on the Indo-Pak agreement of June 1965 related to the Gujarat-West Pakistan border because they felt it impinged upon the nation's sovereignty.

Interestingly enough, in 1971, Opposition leaders were much more supportive of Indira Gandhi though some, like Indrajit Gupta, expressed fears about the misuse of the Defence of India Bill against political opponents. Samar Guha, a socialist, summed up the sentiments of many when he said, "Today she (the Prime Minister) is not an individual; she is not the leader of a party only; she is not even the Prime Minister ofIndia only; she is the flaming sword of the national personality of our country today."

Said Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait of the Muslim League, "Let me agree with my respected colleague in Parliament, the leader of the Jan Sangh, Shri Vajpayee, that today we have no party differences. Today we have one party, the Indian Nation, and one leader, Shrimati Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India." Vajpayee had gone to the extent of calling Indira Gandhi `Durga'.

Though Vajpayee has said all along that he had an open mind on the subject, the government has been waiting for the most suitable moment. Hence the delay, in spite of the President himself suggesting a special session to take the nation into the government's confidence.

In recent days, most of the Opposition parties have made a case for the Upper House to be called. This demand was also voiced by the Congress chief ministers. It would demonstrate the strength of Indian democracy and the unity of the country, they argued. A delegation of Congress leaderswhich called on President K.R. Narayanan three days ago assured him that the Opposition leaders would not do or say anything which could demoralise the forces. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said that it seemed the BJP and its allies, which are in a minority in the Upper House, are apprehensive that the Opposition would try and embarrass them.

Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar is among the few Opposition leaders to oppose the special session which, he feels, would only "divert the attention of the soldiers to the acrimony in the House." Today, there is no Jawaharlal Nehru who could take criticism, nor an Opposition which could speak with restraint, he said.

The real problem is not the caretaker status of the government nor the absence of the Lok Sabha, which have been cited as reasons for not convening the Rajya Sabha. Era Sezhiyan of Lok Shakti has argued that with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, the parliamentary functioning of the government has come to an end; only its executiveoperations continue. Because it is no longer accountable to Parliament, it cannot take policy decisions.

If the government calls the Rajya Sabha session in the absence of the Lok Sabha, he argues, in future a ruling party with a majority in the Rajya Sabha could call a session of the Upper House and get anything passed. Former Goa governor Bhanu Prakash Singh, who was an MP in 1962, says that it was possible to have a debate with criticism and solidarity during the Chinese aggression because the elections were already over.

In fact, the real problem is the impending polls. Every party wants to use whatever comes its way, including a Rajya Sabha session, to get electoral mileage. The Opposition parties want to flay the government for being caught napping and the government wants to project its diplomatic achievements -- but only after it is on top of the situation. Had the government summoned the Upper House two weeks ago, it would have been advantage Congress. In the first few weeks of the Kargil war,every funeral televised meant around 30,000 votes less for the ruling combine. But having turned the corner, a session of Parliament could mean advantage BJP.

The situation has changed qualitatively since the last all-party meet thanks to the capture of Tiger Hill, the complete isolation of Pakistan in the world community, and the announcement in the National Assembly of Pakistan calling upon the Mujahideen to withdraw. From the Prime Minister's perspective, the propitious time is almost here, when he will be more confident of being able to use the fall of Tiger Hill to recapture Raisina Hill.