Why Has BJP Govt Called For Special Session? Guessing Game Over Centre's Move

Is the Centre preparing for an early Lok Sabha polls or 'One Nation One Election'? Or is the Narendra Modi-led BJP government preparing to pass the women's quota bill? These are the speculations doing rounds after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi's announcement on holding a special session of Parliament in September.

According to a report in Republic TV, the Centre is set to introduce 'One Nation One Election' Bill in the special session of the Parliament.

The bill is about conducting Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies elections together, once in five years. India witnessed simultaneous polls for both Centre and states in the first two decades after Independence, until 1967.

However, the years 1968 and 1969 saw the dissolution of several Assemblies, subsequently followed by the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. This sequence of events led to the interruption of the practice of conducting simultaneous elections.

A report in India Today adds that Narendra Modi's government is likely to introduce women's reservation and the Uniform Civil Code.

UCC intends to have a common code of personal laws across all religions and it has been BJP's key poll plank for over two decades.

Earlier in the day, the government convened a special session of Parliament for five days between September 18 and 22, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi announced.

There was no official word on the agenda of the session which will be held days after the G20 Summit in the national capital on September 9 and 10.

"Special Session of Parliament (13th Session of 17th Lok Sabha and 261st Session of Rajya Sabha) is being called from 18th to 22nd September having five sittings. Amid Amrit Kaal looking forward to having fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament," he said on X.

Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked his party workers to be prepared for the early polls, Hindustan Times reported.

Nonetheless, the latest development has hogged all the attention while the Opposition bloc's latest meeting is underway in Mumbai.