Amid growing speculations around the agenda for the Special Session of the Parliament convened from September 18-22, Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi is set to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the key issues on which the party wants a discussion.
This decision was made during a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group on Tuesday, which was summoned due to the government’s reluctance to reveal the session’s agenda.
The Opposition INDIA bloc was promptly informed of this decision following the Congress meeting. Subsequently, leaders of the Opposition convened at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the matter. Initially, there were considerations about whether Kharge, in his role as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, should draft the letter on behalf of all Opposition parties. However, a consensus was reached, affirming that Sonia Gandhi would represent all parties by writing the letter herself.
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Congress plans to address a range of crucial issues in this letter, including concerns regarding inflation, unemployment, the situation in Manipur, recent developments in the Adani controversy, the border standoff with China, and perceived threats to the country’s federal structure.
However, an Opposition leader clarified, stating that the letter “will neither be a joint letter nor on behalf of the INDIA alliance. It will be written by the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson on her letterhead.”
The intent behind this letter is to set a counter-narrative amid discussions surrounding the idea of “one nation, one election” and the India-Bharat political dispute, as the government has yet to clarify the agenda for the five-day special session scheduled to begin on September 18.
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The Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group met at Sonia’s 10, Janpath residence. The meeting included KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, P Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, and Gaurav Gogoi. Later, the leaders of the INDIA bloc convened at Kharge’s residence. Discussions during these meetings also touched upon the India-Bharat issue, highlighting the importance of this ongoing political debate.
The Opposition meeting saw the participation of other leaders, including Derek O’Brien from the TMC, TR Baalu from the DMK, Sanjay Raut representing Shiv Sena (UBT), Supriya Sule from the NCP, Manoj Jha of the RJD, Lallan Singh from JD(U), Binoy Viswam from CPI, Ram Gopal Yadav representing SP, and Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha from AAP.
Kharge expressed his concern, saying, “The government is convening a special session for the first time without spelling out the agenda. No one from any Opposition party has been consulted or informed. This is not the way to run a democracy.”
