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Parliament Special Session Highlights: The five-day special session of the Parliament kicked off with an address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha. In an emotional farewell to the old Parliament building, the PM hailed key bills such as Article 370, GST and 'One Rank-One Pension'. His speech - which had jabs at Opposition - Modi recalled "bitter-sweet memories" associated with the old building.
"Bidding goodbye to this building is an emotional moment...many bitter-sweet memories associated with it. We had differences and disputes but we witnessed 'parivaar bhaav' ('feeling of family')," he said to a rousing reception by BJP leaders.
The PM also recalled his first memories of the old Parliament building. "When I first entered... as an MP... I bowed down and honoured the 'Temple of Democracy. It was an emotional moment... I could have never imagined a child from a poor family, living on the railway platform, would ever be able to enter Parliament. I never imagined I would get so much love..."
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"Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfil the demand for women's reservation, which was proved by the approval of the Cabinet," Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said, in his social media poston X.
"It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and consensus could have been built instead of operating under a veil of secrecy," Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said.
The Union Cabinet has approved the bill to reserve 33 percent quota for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, reports said, citing sources. No official confirmation was so far issued by the government officials.
Among other legislations, the government is considering bringing a bill to reserve seats for OBCs in legislative bodies, sources told CNBC TV-18. Governmentofficials have declined to comment on the outcome of the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Opposition parties including Congress and TRS had asked for the introduction and passage of women's reservation bill and OBC reservation bill in parliament ahead of the special session.
No press briefing was held, or a media statement issued, following the Union Cabinet meeting that was held for around one-and-a-half hour today.As Parliament is in session, the Cabinet decision are likely tobe announced tomorrow in the House.
A key Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Modi at the Parliament House Annexe in Delhi has now concluded. The meeting was held amid speculation that it may clear some important legislative proposals. Meanwhile, both the Houses have adjourned to meet in the new Parliament building tomorrow.
On the new Parliament building, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad says, "There are many memories as an MP, minister, the ruling party and as the opposition but still all of us are friends. Today when the proceedings ended, the ruling party and the opposition were taking pictures together to gather the memories of the last day. This is the democracy of India... I have seen Atal Bihari Vajpayee here, Lal Krishna Advani, and Manmohan Singh here. We were active in exposing the 2G scam and other scams, coal scams... I had the fortune of working in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government... There are a lot of memories... This is a temple... We will enter the new temple with new enthusiasm to take India to a new level in the 'Amrit Kaal'... The opposition has to ask questions and the government has to answer, this is democracy..."
"From tomorrow afternoon, Parliament will convene in the new building. Hopefully, now at least the Prime Minister will sit more frequently in both Houses. His tenure has been marked by minimum non-customary interventions in Parliament with the worst attendance record of all PMs."
The Congress has urged the government to bring Women Reservation Bill in the parliament and highlighted the issue of unemployment saying rising joblessness will finish democracy in the country. During a discussion on 'Parliamentary Journey of 75 years Starting from Samvidhan Sabha - Achievements, Experiences, Memories And Learnings' leader of the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge from Congress said, "Women Reservation Bill should come. We all tried. This issue if you (Chair) raise then they will."
Kharge highlighted the small numbers of women lawmakers in parliament, saying they constituted only 14 per cent in both houses combined, while their number in legislative assemblies is just 10 percent. The proportion of women MPs was just five per cent in first Lok Sabha in 1952.
The meeting, chaired by PM Modi, comes amidthe commencement of special session of Parliament from today. Though the agenda of the meeting is yet to be revealed, it is expected that the key bills listed for consideration during the special session are likely to be discussed.
The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will meet again on September 19 afternoon in the new Parliament building after they were adjourned on Monday following a discussion on the parliamentary journey of 75 years.
While the Rajya Sabha will meet at 2:15 pm in the Upper House chamber of the new Parliament building, the Lok Sabha will meet at 1:15 PM in the Lower House chamber of the newly constructed complex.
