Parliament Special Session Day 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Lok Sabha as Special Session of Parliament began on Monday. The government has listed 8 bills including the contentious Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill. The five-day special session will also have a discussion on Parliamentary journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha – achievements, experiences, memories and learnings.

Amid the buzz over a surprise bill, Prime Minister Modi has termed the five-day special session of Parliament “a session of historic decisions”. Addressing the media ahead of the beginning of the session, PM Modi said, “This session of the Parliament is short but going by the time, it is huge. This is a session of historic decisions. A specialty of this session is that the journey of 75 years is starting from a new destination…Now, while taking forward the journey from a new place…we have to make the country a developed country by 2047. For this, all the decisions of the time to come will be taken in the new Parliament building.”

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The announcement of the special session of Parliament merely 38 days after the Monsoon Session came as a surprise to not just Opposition parties but some ruling alliance members as well. Moreover, the government didn’t reveal the agenda of the session at the time of announcement, leading to speculations.

Even after the release of tentative list of bills, the opposition highlighted a line that said this is not the “exhaustive” agenda. Their is a buzz in the political circles that the government is planning a surprise bill.

Also Read: Parliament special session: The business and the bills

The Opposition questioned government’s intentions behind its decision to keep the agenda under wraps. This is what led to speculations that the Centre is planning to dissolve the Parliament and announce early elections as part of its “one nation, one election” move. The other speculated items were Uniform Civil Code and Women’s Reservation bill.

The Congress party has also written to Prime Minister Modi to inform him about the issues it will raise during the special session. The grand old party has asked the government to table the Women’s Reservation Bill and discuss Manipur ethnic clashes, communal riots in Haryana, the issue of Adani and alleged Chinese occupation of land in Ladakh.

While the session on first day will be held in the existing building, the parliamentary proceedings will be shifted to the new Parliament building adjacent to the old one on Tuesday. An all party meeting was held on the eve of the special session to discuss parliamentary business.

After the all-party meeting, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said that the special session will provide 5 sittings during which eight legislative items are likely to be taken up.

Earlier on Sunday, a flag hoisting ceremony was held in the new Parliament building. The ceremony was attended by Cabinet ministers and several other leaders from Opposition parties. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar hoisted the national flag atop “Gaja Dwar” of the new Parliament building.