Parliament Special Session: Has It Happened Before? When? A Look Back

The first-ever special session of Parliament was convened on 14 and 15 August, to mark India's independence.

In a rare development, the central government on Thursday, 31 August, announced a special session of the parliament that scheduled for 18 to 22 September.

(Photo: PTI)

In a rare development, the central government on Thursday, 31 August, announced a special session of the Parliament that is scheduled to held from 18 to 22 September.

What's noteworthy is that while announcing the special session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi did not reveal the agenda for the same.

But this won't be the first time that the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will be convened for a special session.

Here's a look at all the previous special sessions of the Parliament.

• The first-ever special session of the Parliament was convened on 14 and 15 August, to mark India's independence.

• During the India-China war in 1962, another special session was called on 8 and 9 November under the leadership of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to discuss the incursion made by China at length.

• On 15 August 1972, a special session was called to mark the silver jubilee of India's Independence.

• A midnight session was called on 9 August 1992 to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the 'Quit India Movement'.

• On 15 August 1997, a midnight session was convened to mark 50-years of India's independence.

• On 30 June 2017, the Modi government called for a joint midnight session of both the houses to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST). This was the first special session of the Parliament where a bill was discussed. All previous such sessions were convened to commemorate historical events.

Why is it important? There are speculations that the government may propose the 'One Nation, One Election' system in the forthcoming special session, as it formed a panel led by former President Ram Nath Kovind to review the proposal a day after the announcement of the special session.

(With inputs from The Indian Express.)