Is Centre likely to introduce ‘One Nation, One Poll’ bill in special session of Parliament?

India’s political circles are abuzz after the Union government announced a special session of Parliament from 18 September to 22 September. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi made the announcement on Thursday, but shared little information on what the agenda of the session would be.

In a post on X, he wrote, “special session of Parliament (13th Session of 17th Lok Sabha and 261st Session of Rajya Sabha) is being called from 18th to 22nd September having five sittings. Amid Amrit Kaal looking forward to have fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament.”

The decision has surprised one and all; the Opposition grouping of INDIA, who is in Mumbai for their third alliance meet, termed it as “managing the news cycle, Modi style” or an attempt to deflect attention or “as something up their sleeve”.

While there’s no clarity on what’s in store for the five sittings, speculation is rife that the Modi government would either be introducing bills on issues such as One Nation, One Election’, Uniform Civil Code and women’s reservation or even dissolve Parliament and call for early elections.

But what is exactly going on? We sift through all the noise on the matter and give you the answers you are looking for.

Call for a special session

Just a month after the Monsoon Session of Parliament ended, the Centre has called for a special session of Parliament. At the recently-concluded session, 20 bills were introduced in Lok Sabha and five were introduced in the Rajya Sabha. According to records, while Lok Sabha passed 22 bills, the Upper House passed 25.

Also read: Centre calls special session of Parliament: How is it convened?

The special session being called from 18 September, according to sources speaking to IANS, will have no Question Hour, no Zero Hour and no private member business. It has also been said that while the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs (CCPA) took the decision to convene the special session, President Droupadi Murmu will issue the orders to summon it once she returns from Chhattisgarh.

It is yet to be announced if the special session of Parliament will be held at the new Parliament building, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28 May. However, many believe that the session will be held at the new construction, as Minister Pralhad Joshi in his post making the announcement had used an image of it.

Agenda for the session

While the government has remained tight-lipped over the agenda for the session, it has sparked speculations and rumours. Some believe that the government may bring up discussions on India’s G20 presidency and the G20 Summit, which is scheduled to take place on 9 and 10 September during the special session.

However, others have different ideas on it. Many believe that the special session has been summoned in order to advance the Lok Sabha elections to December, along with the coming round of Assembly polls.

Earlier this week, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had claimed that the Modi government will call for early elections as it is scared of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc.

Some have noted that the announcement timing matches with the assessment within government circles about the possibility of Lok Sabha being advanced from April-May to be clubbed with elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. Sources told Times of India that they felt that going to polls early would make political sense for the BJP.

Another rumour that has gathered speed over the reasoning for a special session is that the Centre would like to push three special bills – ‘One Nation, One Election’, Uniform Civil Code and women’s reservation.

Political pundits believe that the government is especially keen on pushing the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill, which refers to the idea of simultaneously holding the general and state elections. While the idea has been mooted several times previously by opposition parties, Prime Minister Modi has supported it.

In 2020, on Constitution Day, the PM had suggested a single voters’ list for Lok Sabha, Assembly and panchayat polls, saying separate lists are a waste of resources. He had added that national interest should be the basis for every decision and that legislature, executive and judiciary should work with better coordination.

The One Nation, One Election’ bill has also been supported by Home Minister Amit Shah. In an ANI interview in February, he had said that “the time has come” to consider the proposal for ‘One Nation, One Election’. He claimed that people have raised concerns that separate elections are not healthy for a democratic country.

Others believe that the session could see the introduction of legislation for Uniform Civil Code. For the unaware, Uniform Civil Code is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation and gender. The BJP has been pushing for this legislation for long and was also a part of their 2019 election manifesto.

However, a National Democratic Alliance leader speaking to LiveMint ruled out the possibility of a Uniform Civil Code bill being introduced. “There is no plan whatsoever to bring a UCC bill now,” he said.

There are reports that the Women’s Reservation Bill, which proposes 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, could also be introduced in Parliament. This bill had been passed in March 2010 in the Rajya Sabha but failed the Lower House hurdle.

Opposition questions session

The Centre’s call for a special session of Parliament, undoubtedly, sparked reactions from politicians across the board. Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, who is in Mumbai attending the third INDIA bloc meeting, said it indicated the Modi sarkar’s panic.

Addressing a press conference, the recently reinstated MP said matters like that of allegations against Adani Group are “very close” to PM Modi, making him “uncomfortable” and “very nervous”. “I think maybe it is an indicator of a little panic. The same type of panic that happened when I spoke in Parliament House, the panic that suddenly made them revoke my Parliament membership. So, I think it is panic because these matters are very close to the prime minister. Whenever you touch the Adani matter, the PM gets very uncomfortable and very nervous,” Rahul Gandhi said.

His party, the Congress, also questioned the timing of the session with spokesperson Jairam Ramesh saying it was an effort to shift attention from the Adani scandal.

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi told Indian Express: “It is typical over-dramatics. You don’t share the agenda when a Parliament session is announced, keep people guessing; set the agenda through leaks; minimise notice period and opportunity; and never discuss nitty gritties where both god and devil reside…these are the hallmark characteristics of the BJP-NDA Modi government.”

However, the Centre’s decision has rattled the Opposition bloc, who believes that the government is “up to something.” The Opposition bloc decided to announce several committees Friday itself, the main one being the coordination committee.

Shiv Sena-UBT’s Priyanka Chaturvedi also expressed surprise at the timing of the session. She wrote on X that it was “unfortunate” that the session was “called during India’s most important festival of Ganesh Chaturthi”. She added that the call for the special sitting “goes against the Hindu sentiments”.

This special session called during India’s most important festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is unfortunate and goes against the Hindu sentiments. Surprised at their choice of dates! pic.twitter.com/MkSe4q2ZSf

— Priyanka Chaturvedi