Ahead Of Special Session, Congress Holds Parliamentary Strategy Group Meet

New Delhi:

The Congress on Tuesday held a Parliamentary strategy group meeting ahead of the Parliament special session, which will begin on September 18.

The meeting began at the residence of Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi.  

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan and other key leaders arrived at 10, Janpath to attend the meeting. 

Sonia Gandhi, who was admitted to Delhi’s Sir Gangaram Hospital with symptoms of mild fever on Sunday, was discharged the next day. 

Sources said the meeting was called to discuss the party’s plan to tackle questions and issues likely to be raised in the Parliament Session.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has also called a meeting of INDIA alliance MPs to discuss the strategy for the special parliamentary session.

Last week, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi announced the five-day special session of Parliament from September 18-22. The agenda for the special session, however, has not been revealed yet.

The Centre has also constituted an eight-member committee to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country. The committee will be headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.

The other announced members of the committee include Union Home Minister Amit Shah; Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury; former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad; former Finance Commission chairman NK Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve and former chief vigilance commissioner Sanjay Kothari. 

Mr Chowdhury has said he will not be part of the panel.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which concluded last month, was held in the old Parliament building. The announcement of the Special Session came as a surprise in political circles with the parties gearing up for assembly polls in five states later this year.

The winter session of Parliament usually begins in the last week of November.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)