The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on August 13, but has not yet been formally prorogued, prompting questions from Congress.
Jairam Ramesh said the 10-day gap was “abnormal” and questioned whether the government was seeking a two-thirds majority for the delimitation Bill.
Parliamentary practice generally sees prorogation follow adjournment within a few days, though longer gaps have occurred in previous sessions.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has flagged a 10-day delay in the prorogation of the Lok Sabha after it was adjourned sine die on August13, 2026, questioning whether the government is trying to muster the numbers needed to pass the proposed delimitation Bill.
Describing the delay as “abnormal”, Ramesh asked whether Union Home Minister Amit Shah was still seeking a two-thirds majority to pass a Constitutional Amendment Bill on delimitation.
“Is the Union Home Minister still in search of his bahukalakit (tarnished) 2/3rd majority to get the Constitutional Amendment Bill on Delimitation passed in a Special Session?” Ramesh said in a post on X.
What Is The Delay?
The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on August 13, but the session has not yet been formally prorogued.
Under normal parliamentary practice, the gap between adjournment sine die and prorogation is generally two to four days. Ramesh said there have also been instances when both took place on the same day.
However, there have been longer gaps in the past. The interval was 28 days during the 2015 monsoon session and 20 days in 2021.
“There were no diabolical moves afoot then,” Ramesh said, referring to those instances. The BJP had earlier blamed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “arrogance and indiscipline” for the disruption of the monsoon session.
What Do Parliamentary Rules Say?
Ramesh also shared a photograph of a page from Practice and Procedure of Parliament by M N Kaul and S L Shakdher to support his argument.
According to the manual, the President prorogues a session of Parliament under Article 85(2), acting on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet may be consulted before the advice is submitted.
The manual states that prorogation can take place at any time, including while the House is sitting, but usually follows the adjournment of the House sine die.
Prorogation formally brings a parliamentary session to an end and marks the beginning of the inter-session period, allowing the next session to be convened.
