Sonia writes to Modi, lists issues for special session

Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to demand discussions on nine issues, including fresh revelations on the Adani Group, price rise and caste census, in the upcoming special session, prompting a sharp response from parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, who accused her of politicising Parliament.

- Saubhadra Chatterji and Smriti Kak Ramachandran

The exchange came amid furious speculation about the legislative agenda for the five-day session next week after controversies around simultaneous state and assembly polls, and using the name Bharat instead of India in some official government communication summed up the mood in the government and Opposition camps.

In her rare letter to the PM, Gandhi also asked for discussion on the government's commitment to the farmer bodies on minimum support prices, and reiterated the Congress's demand for a joint parliamentary committee to investigate the transactions of the Adani Group. Gandhi demanded another discussion on Manipur underlining the "continued agony faced by people of Manipur and breakdown of constitutional machinery and social harmony".

"You have convened a special five-day session of the Parliament beginning 18 September 2023. I must point out that this special session has been convened without any consultation with other political parties. None of us have any idea of its agenda," she said in her letter.

Hours later, Joshi responded, saying that the session was not in contravention of rules. "It is unfortunate that you are trying to politicise and create an unwarranted controversy over Parliament, the temple of our democracy," he said in a letter addressed to the former Congress chief.