New Delhi
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh on Sunday questioned the government over the delay in formally proroguing the Lok Sabha, ten days after the House was adjourned sine die at the scheduled end of the Monsoon Session on August 13.
Ramesh described the delay as “abnormal” and sought an explanation from the government for why the Lok Sabha had not yet been prorogued. He raised questions over whether the unusual gap was connected to the government’s plans to introduce or secure support for a Constitutional Amendment Bill related to delimitation.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on August 13, bringing the scheduled proceedings of the Monsoon Session to an end. However, adjournment sine die does not formally bring a parliamentary session to a close. Prorogation is carried out separately through a formal order.
Ramesh suggested that the government could be using the intervening period to assess and consolidate support for the proposed delimitation legislation. He questioned whether Union Home Minister Amit Shah was attempting to “cobble together” the numbers required for the passage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill.
The Congress leader’s remarks come amid continuing political discussions over delimitation and its possible implications for parliamentary representation. Any Constitutional Amendment Bill would require the prescribed parliamentary majority, making numbers in both Houses particularly important for the government.
The delay in prorogation has therefore drawn attention from the Opposition, which has sought greater clarity from the government. The Congress has questioned whether the procedural delay is merely administrative or connected to a larger legislative strategy.
The government has not, however, publicly indicated that the delay in proroguing the Lok Sabha is linked to any immediate attempt to pass a delimitation-related Constitutional Amendment Bill.