The upcoming special session of the Parliament is set to commence in the old building on September 18, with plans to relocate to the new premises on September 19, marking the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, sources said. The government has called for a special session of the Parliament on September 18-21.

"The Special Session of Parliament will start in the old building on 18th September and will be later moved to the new building on 19th September on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi: Sources," news agency ANI tweeted.

The Special Session of Parliament will start in the old building on 18th September and will be later moved to the new building on 19th September on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi: Sources pic.twitter.com/nMS1nr3WsB

— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

As reported earlier, there are speculations that the Modi administration may move a resolution to rename the country Bharat instead of India for official purposes.

The announcement of the special session was met with objections from the Opposition with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi writing a letter to the PM mentioning that the session was called without any discussion with the Opposition.

Opposition members including JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar and those in Maharashtra such as Shiv Sena (UBT) members Sanjay Raut, Uddhav Thackeray, and Priyanka Chaturvedi have pointed out that the dates for the session clash with Ganesh Chaturthi.

"Convening a special session of the Parliament on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi proves that central government hurts the sentiments of Hindus. They are afraid of the increasing size of INDIA alliance," said JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar.

Thackeray described the Modi government's move as "disappointing" and noted, "Lord Ganesh is also known as 'Vighnaharta' and we will be glad if the country's problems are solved."

Sanjay Raut also said, "In Maharashtra, we have Ganesh Utsav so we can't go," amid speculations about the Opposition members' attendance.

#WATCH | Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut says, "PM Modi has called a Special Session of Parliament. No one knows why this session is called. In Maharashtra, we have Ganesh Utsav so we can't go...We have heard that PM Modi wants to have a discussion on China invading Ladakh. If PM… pic.twitter.com/4gct2X9iS2

— ANI (@ANI) September 3, 2023

First Published:Sept 6, 2023 2:47 PM IST