Pralhad Joshi accuses Ramesh of twisting facts on constitutional provisions, parliamentary procedures
Pralhad Joshi on Thursday accused senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh of twisting facts about constitutional provisions and parliamentary procedures related to Parliament sessions. It is crucial to stop the spread of misinformation that scandalises Parliament and its procedures, the parliamentary affairs minister said in a rejoinder to Ramesh who had accused him of being «misleading» in his reply to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's letter to the prime minister.
The Congress has been targeting the government for not disclosing the agenda of the five-day special session starting from September 18.
Ramesh had claimed the agenda of every special session in the past was well known in advance and alleged that it was only the Modi government that «distorts» parliamentary conventions.
Seeking to set the record straight, Joshi accused him of «falsely claiming» that the historic function in Parliament's Central Hall on June 30, 2017 for the GST roll out, was a Parliament session.
«That's just not true! It wasn't a session under Article 85 of the Constitution,» he said on X.
«Now, let's address another misrepresentation.
Ramesh mentioned a „Special Sitting in Central Hall on 26 November, 2019“ for Constitution's 70th anniversary. But, once again, it wasn't a parliamentary session under Article 85 of the Constitution,» Joshi said.
A session of Parliament under Article 85 of the Constitution is precisely that, and the agenda will be shared in accordance with established parliamentary practices, he said.
The Article 85 deals with session and states that the «President will from time to time summon each House of Parliament to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit, but six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one
