Don't politicise parliamentary process, Pralhad Joshi writes to Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi, September 6

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday wrote back to Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi lamenting what he described as “unfortunate politicisation of parliamentary work and procedures and attempt to rake up a controversy where none existed”.

Joshi said the special session of Parliament from September 18 to 22 had been called by the President under constitutional provisions after a due recommendation from the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. “Perhaps you are unaware of the procedures. There is no provision to either consult political parties before calling a Parliament session or discuss agenda with them in advance. It is only before the session commences that a meeting of party leaders is called and business and agenda discussed. Our government has always been ready to discuss any issue. All the issues you raised were discussed during the debate on the no-confidence motion in the monsoon session and the government had responded to each of them. The agenda for the special session will be shared as per procedure at the right time,” said Joshi. The minister said the session had been called as per Article 85 of the Constitution. “I hope the dignity of Parliament will be retained and the parliamentary platform will not be used for political point scoring,” he mentioned in the letter.