Congress leader Sonia Gandhi sent a letter to Prime Minister Modi in which she expressed surprise over the special session of Parliament had been called without consulting with other parties and without an agenda, and she demanded that time be set aside for discussion on nine issues, including the Adani revelations, Chinese aggression, rising communal tension, the caste census, and the harm being done to Centre-state relations.
The opposition INDIA bloc met to develop a shared approach for the five-day session, which was followed by Sonia's letter. The leader of the Congress' parliamentary party expressed surprise that the administration had been given permission to conduct business on all five days.
At the same time, raising prospects of a confrontation far from the possible government expectations of a peaceful special session, Congress told the government that the opposition wants to participate in the proceedings, but discussion on the nine issues of public concern is a must.
Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh assured the Centre that the opposition will listen to the government and not walk away after having its say. He, however, added that “all five days reserved for government business is not acceptable to us. This is not possible. It is against all conventions. Whatever your agenda is, invite us and hold consultations... there should be around two hours reserved every day of the session for discussion on issues of public concern as outlined by Sonia Gandhi,” he told the media.
Sonia requested in her letter that a joint parliamentary committee be discussed in order to look into the activities of the Adani Group in light of recent findings, the ongoing unrest in Manipur, the MSP promise to farmers, the current economic climate of rising prices and rising unemployment.