Kharge flags 64-day delay in proroguing Parliament, seeks all-party meet on delimitation

New Delhi: Flagging the "unprecedented" delay in proroguing the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call an all-party meeting to discuss any new delimitation proposals, and cautioned him against any attempts to bulldoze a "far-reaching" Constitutional Amendment Bill.

In a letter to Modi, Kharge said it has already been 64 days since the Monsoon Session was adjourned sine die on August 13, and both Houses of Parliament are yet to be prorogued.

Terming the scenario unprecedented, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said he had first written to the prime minister on April 11 to convene an all-party meeting before bringing any Constitutional Amendment Bill on delimitation.


"You did not do so. Thereafter, you made the Bills public on the late evening of April 14, and convened a special session on April 16. The Constitutional Amendment Bill on delimitation failed to muster the necessary two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on April 17 by a decisive margın," Kharge said.

"Thereafter, on July 16 and August 27, I wrote to you again repeating our request for an all-party meeting. I am now doing so for a fourth time. Please convene an all-party meeting to have a detailed discussion on your new proposals before they are finalised for consideration in Parliament," the Congress chief said.

All political parties must get sufficient time to deliberate among themselves, with each other and with all the other stakeholders, he added.

"Please do not once again try and bulldoze a far-reaching Constitutional Amendment Bill through Parliament as you attempted earlier and that met its well-deserved fate," Kharge said.

Sharing Kharge's letter on X, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, "Mallikarjun Kharge ji has just written to the prime minister on the unprecedented delay in proroguing the Monsoon Session of Parliament and any moves the Modi government may be planning."