Winter session or special session: Govt keeps Opposition guessing

The Congress once again raised the issue of the prolonged delay in proroguing the last monsoon session of Parliament, which has added to the uncertainty of the winter session.

"Today is 88 days since Parliament was adjourned sine die and has still NOT been prorogued. The 8th edition of the authoritative Practice and Procedure of Parliament, popularly known as Kaul and Shakdher, was published in mid-2024 with a Message from the PM himself. Page 192 says that the time gap between the adjournment of the Lok Sabha sine die and its prorogation is generally two-four days," Congress' general secretary for communications Jairam Ramesh said.

He questioned why the new edition of the book didn't mention the ongoing 88-day delay in proroguing the monsoon session, which started on July 20. The government's decision not to officially end the last session has sparked curiosity about its plan for the winter session.

According to the rules, no new session may be called unless the House has been prorogued.

Precedents and rules

Last year, Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju had announced the winter session schedule on November 8. The session, which had just 15 working days, commenced on December 1 and was adjourned sine die on December 19.

"If the government has to notify a new session, it must act quickly. Either they must prorogue the ongoing session and allow the President to issue a summons for the new session, or they can call a special session—an extension of the monsoon session," a senior official said.

Usually, two weeks are given between the announcement and the first day of the session. This time period is to allow lawmakers to prepare for the session and reach Delhi. But the rules say that a special session can be called on three days' notice.

Some Opposition leaders have expressed doubts about whether the government will call the winter session at all.

Can the government skip the winter session?

The last sitting of Parliament was held on August 13. According to Article 85(1) of the Constitution, six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. In other words, the government can call the next session before February 13.

However, government officials have insisted that there is no plan to skip the winter session.

"There will be a session in December. We don't know if it will be a proper winter session or a special session," an NDA leader said.

Ramesh claimed that this record (of not proroguing the House) has been set to give the Union Home Minister time to manipulate a super-tainted two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha to pass the dangerous and destructive Delimitation Bills.

"The unity and solidarity of the Opposition, which defeated his diabolical designs convincingly on April 17, 2026, will prevail once again if he repeats his trademark bulldozer tactics. The Congress President has written to the PM four times in the past six months requesting that an all-party meeting on Delimitation be convened to discuss all proposals transparently and in detail BEFORE introducing any legislation. The PM has steadfastly refused to do so," he tweeted on Monday.