Parl Winter Session: Prospects of stormy proceedings ahead

The upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, commencing from December 1 and likely to culminate on December 19, is not only going to be one of the shortest in terms of sittings (only 15 of them) in recent history, but also faces the likelihood of a washout as it is all set to witness an uproar on a string of issues, most prominent among them being the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories (UTs).

Apart from this, the recent Bihar Assembly elections results, in which the BJP-led NDA won by a thumping margin, bagging 202 out of the 243 seats, is also likely to hog the attention, with the Congress-led INDIA alliance levelling allegations of vote theft through SIR and deletion of 65 lakh names from the state's electoral rolls.

Though there is no joint opposition strategy on SIR so far, INDIA alliance-ruled states Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala have intensified their protest against the exercise as they are among the nine states where the SIR is being currently conducted.

Opposition parties are also likely to corner the government on the issue of alleged vote theft in Haryana and Maharashtra. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations on ‘vote theft’ may also rock the session.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on US President Donald Trump's statements on China and the Centre's strategy vis-a-vis the neighbouring nation, with the government having learnt to resume issuance of tourist visas to Chinese citizens globally, is another issue on which the Opposition is likely to gherao the government.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had recently said “There are many such issues regarding the economy, the rate of economic growth, GDP and unemployment. There is no shortage of issues. We keep issuing notices again and again, but no action is ever taken on them. The government does whatever it wants".

Significantly, this Winter Session is set to be one of the shortest since 2014. The previous Winter Session ran from November 25 to December 20, 2024.

Soon after the Winter Session's announcement, the Opposition parties launched an attack on the government for reducing the session to just 15 days.

Targeting the government, Ramesh had said the session is “an unusually delayed and truncated one. It will be just 15 working days. What is the message being conveyed? Clearly, the government has no business to transact, no Bills to get passed and no debates to be allowed.”

Echoing the view, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien had said the government is avoiding Parliamentary scrutiny.

“Fifteen-day Winter Session announced. Setting dubious records. Parliament-ophobia. PM Narendra Modi and team continue to suffer from the acute condition called Parliament-ophobia, a morbid fear of facing Parliament,” he wrote on X.

Among the 10 Bills to be taken up during the Winter Session, one of the key legislations was the contentious Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025, which proposed to bracket Chandigarh with the Union Territories (UTs) administered directly by Lieutenant Governors appointed by the President.

However the BJP-led NDA government earlier this week retracted its plan to bring it in the Winter Session after uproar in Punjab, with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issuing an official statement saying, “The Centre has no intention of introducing any Bill to this effect in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament."

Amid these plethora of issues, the upcoming Winter Session is likely to face adjournments. With the short duration of the session, the likelihood of any useful business being conducted looks dim.

The Winter Session too had witnessed repeated disruptions, adjournments and walkouts. Barring discussions on “Operation Sindoor” in both Houses, the session has seen little business ever since it had begun on July 21 due to repeated disruptions and adjournments initially due to Opposition's demand for discussion on “Operation Sindoor” and then over demands for a discussion on the SIR in Bihar.

It had 21 sittings spreading over 32 days, during which 12 Bills were passed by the Lok Sabha and 15 by the Rajya Sabha.