Jairam Ramesh Claims New Parliament Record Set to Push Delimitation Bill

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh accuses the Centre of keeping Parliament unprorogued for 88 days to manipulate a two-thirds majority for the Delimitation Bill, calling the move a dangerous and destructive tactic by the current government.

Jairam Ramesh Alleges Strategic Non-Prorogation of Parliament

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Monday claimed that the present government has made a new record with Parliament adjourned sine die and not prorogued for 88 days, which he alleged was to "manipulate" a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha for the Delimitation Bill. In an X post, Ramesh cited Union Parliamentary Minister Kiren Rijiju's letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in which he mentioned Parliament not being prorogued for 87 days in 2008. In a jibe at the Centre, Ramesh said that a new record was set by the government today by breaking that mark. He wrote, "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 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. But in footnote #53 on the same page it states that the maximum gap has been 28 days and that related to the Monsoon Session in 2015."

"However, the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs wrote to the Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Khargeji on Oct 19, 2026, saying that the Monsoon Session in 2008 had been kept unprorogued for a record 87 days. Why that fails to find mention in Kaul and Shakdher is puzzling. And that 87 days was by consensus of all parties because of the peculiar circumstances then," he added.

Opposition's Concerns on Delimitation Exercise

The Congress leader said that despite Kharge writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call an all-party meeting on the delimitation exercise, no such meeting was called. He said, "Even so, going by the Union Minister’s own reckoning, a new record has been set today. And unlike in the past, including in 2008, this record has been set to give time to the Union Home Minister to somehow manipulate a super-tainted two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha to get the dangerous and destructive Delimitation Bills passed. 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," the X post read.

Government Stance on Parliamentary Procedure

On August 13, the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which began on July 20, was adjourned sine die on Thursday after 19 sittings spread over 25 days. However, in a letter to Congress chief Kharge, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that "there is no constitutional requirement prescribing a specific period within which a House must be prorogued following its adjournment sine die. The mere fact that a House has not been prorogued during such an interval does not, by itself, give rise to any constitutional or procedural impropriety or irregularity." Rijiju had alleged that Congress did not give dates for discussion, after which the Government's outreach had extended to other political parties.

Meanwhile, on April 17, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, was defeated in Parliament after failing to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha. (ANI)

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