Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Criticising the government for shrinking the time between the notice announcing the Parliament session and its commencement, the Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien on Sunday (January 19, 2025) urged the government to come up with an annual calendar for Parliament and mandatorily have at least 100 sittings in a year.
During the first and the second Lok Sabha (1952-57 and 1957-62), the notice calling for the session on an average was issued 45 days in advance. Between 2014 and 2019, this came down to 17 days. For the Budget session, the announcement was made 15 days ahead of the session.
“The diminishing lead time between the issuance of summons and the commencement of sessions is only one of the many ills that is ‘turning Parliament into a deep, dark chamber’. If schools and colleges can set up their calendars way in advance, why can’t Parliament,” Mr. O’Brien asked.
The leader had moved a Private Members’ Bill in 2019 demanding that the Parliament should sit at least for 100 days in a year.
Mr. O’Brien said the short notice affects the preparedness of members. “Members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are elected not just to legislate, but also to hold the government accountable, scrutinise its actions, and debate matters of national importance. These responsibilities will be fulfilled far better with a structured and predictable Parliamentary calendar,” he said.
Published – January 19, 2025 07:20 pm IST