Winter session from Dec 1, Oppn hits out at 'curtailed sitting'

The winter session of Parliament is set to take place from December 1 to 19, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said on Saturday, setting the stage for truncated but likely stormy proceedings.

- HT Correspondent

Last year, the winter session ran from November 25 to December 20. “The Hon'ble President... has approved the proposal of the Government to convene the Winter Session... from Ist December 2025 to 19th December. Looking forward to a constructive and meaningful session that strengthens our democracy and serves the aspirations of the people,” Rijiju said in a post on X.

The Opposition said that the shorter duration of the session indicated that the government has little business to transact and does not want to allow any Opposition-sponsored debates.

“This is an unusually delayed and truncated [session]. It will be just 15 working days... Clearly the Government has no bills to get passed, and no debates to be allowed,” Congress's Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

Trinamool Congress's Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brien said the NDA was afraid of facing Parliament. “PM Narendra Modi and team continue to suffer from the acute condition called Parliament-ophobia,” he posted on X.

Congress MP Manish Tewari criticised the government for “lacking” a legislative agenda. “Does the government have no legislative agenda, or is this part of the ongoing weakening of Parliament?” he said.

The BJP rejected the Opposition's charge, with Rijiju suggesting that Congress leaders were not interested in letting Parliament function. “I will never get tired of repeatedly appealing the Congress Party to participate in the Parliament debates and discussions and also not to create obstacles for other sincere MPs.