Ahead of the five-day special session of the Parliament that begins on Monday, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday hoisted the national flag at the new Parliament building in Delhi. He hoisted the flag atop the "Gaja Dwar" of the new Parliament building.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was also with Dhankar. They were also separately accorded a guard of honour by the CRPF's Parliament Duty Group.
The hoisting ceremony takes place a day before the five-day Parliament session begins Monday which may see parliamentary proceedings shift from the old to the adjacent new building.
However, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was notable in his absence. Kharge had said he would not be able to attend the flag hoisting function as he was invited only in the late evening of September 15. Kharge is currently in Hyderabad to attend the three-day meetings of newly constituted Congress Working Committee that began on Saturday. The Congress president added that the programmes had been fixed much in advance.
Meanwhile, the all-party meeting called by the government ahead of the special session will be held on Sunday. The meeting comes amid speculations that the government may have a surprise agenda up its sleeves for the special session. Other businesses listed for the session include a special discussion on Parliament's journey of 75 years starting from the ''Samvidhan Sabha" (Constituent Assembly), a bill on the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners, 'The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023' and 'The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023'.
Besides, 'The Post Office Bill, 2023' has also been listed in the Lok Sabha business.
However, the government can also table in Parliament some new legislation or other items that might not have been part of the listed agenda. Rumours are that a bill to ensure quota for women in elected legislatures like Lok Sabha and state assemblies may be on the cards.
