27 days on, why is Parliament’s monsoon session still not prorogued?

The Congress on Wednesday, 9 September accused the BJP-led Union government of delaying the prorogation of Parliament in an attempt to engineer the numbers it needs to push through a constitutional amendment linked to delimitation, alleging that the ruling party is desperately trying to cobble together a two-thirds majority by breaking Opposition parties.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the delay in proroguing the monsoon session was unusual and suggested that the government was keeping Parliament technically in session while attempting to shore up its numbers.

"There's definitely something fishy going on," Ramesh told PTI, alleging that the government was aiming for a "super-tainted two-thirds majority" but was still well short of the required numbers.

He said the government was "breaking up parties" in its bid to reach the two-thirds threshold, but would not succeed in doing so or in getting the proposed delimitation-related constitutional amendments passed.

Ramesh pointed out that Parliament is normally prorogued three or four days after both Houses are adjourned sine die. The monsoon session was adjourned sine die on 13 August, but 27 days had passed without prorogation by Wednesday, he said.

The previous record was in 2015, when there was a gap of 28 days between the adjournment of Parliament and its prorogation. Ramesh said that record was now close to being broken.

The Congress's charge comes against the backdrop of the government's need to secure a special majority for any constitutional amendment required to implement a future delimitation exercise. Such a Bill must be passed by at least two-thirds of the members present and voting in each House, as well as by a majority of the total membership of each House.

The BJP-led government does not currently have those numbers on its own, making support from allies and potentially Opposition MPs crucial for any such amendment. The Congress has repeatedly accused the BJP of seeking to weaken Opposition parties and induce defections to expand its numbers ahead of a possible delimitation exercise.

The government's difficulty in securing the required majority was highlighted during the Budget session on 17 April, when a Constitution amendment Bill relating to delimitation for implementing women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was defeated in the Lower House.

Of the 528 MPs who voted, 298 supported the bill and 230 opposed it. The bill needed 352 votes — a two-thirds majority of those present and voting — to clear the Lok Sabha.

Ramesh suggested that the continuing delay in prorogation should be viewed in this context, asking whether an effort was under way to manipulate the parliamentary arithmetic. "They won't succeed in getting the super-tainted two-thirds majority to get the delimitation Bills passed," he said.