Average number of Parliament sittings dropped: TMC's Derek O'Brien
New Delhi (PTI): The average number of sittings of Parliament per session has dropped to 17 days with the dates of the Winter Session announced on Saturday, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien said.
The Winter Session of Parliament would be held from December 1 to 19, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Saturday.
O'Brien, TMC's leader in the Rajya Sabha, claimed that the BJP-led Centre suffers from "Parliament-ophobia" and accused it of running away from a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls during the Monsoon Session. He also said a longer session would have meant the opposition demanding discussions on issues like unemployment and "throttling federalism".
"The House will actually just sit for 15 days," O'Brien said in a blogpost.
He said during the first Lok Sabha (1952), the average number of sittings per session of Parliament was 45 days. In the second and third Lok Sabhas, the average was 36 days.
During the ninth Lok Sabha (1989-1991), which lasted for only 15 months, this number came down to 14 days.
"Since 1991, the average days per Parliament session has always remained above twenty," he said.
During the 10th Lok Sabha (1991-1996) Parliament sat for an average of 26 days. In subsequent Lok Sabhas, the average number of days was 21, 25 and 22, O'Brien said.
"When the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, this number dropped below 20 days. During the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019), the average days per session was 19. During the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-2024), it was 18 days," he added.
"After today's announcement, it has dropped to an abysmal 17 days," the TMC leader said, claiming that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffers from "Parliament-ophobia".
"The reason for this government's Parliament-ophobia is obvious. The creaky coalition led by PM Narendra Modi shied away from a discussion on SIR (Silent Invisible Rigging) during the entire Monsoon Session of Parliament.
"A longer Winter Session would have made them even more uncomfortable when the Opposition demands discussions on unemployment and throttling federalism," he said.
"There is another reason why this skittish coalition wants a truncated session of Parliament, starting only in December," O'Brien said.
"It is Constitution Day on 26 November. It would have been a perfect occasion for a meaningful debate on upholding the values of the Constitution of India. But then, who cares about Parliament?" he added.
In a post on X earlier in the day, the TMC leader said, "Parliament-ophobia. PM Narendra Modi and team continue to suffer from the acute condition called Parliament-ophobia, a morbid fear of facing Parliament."
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Nashik court sends ‘godman’ Kharat to seven-day judicial custody in third rape case
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Nashik (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Nashik on Monday remanded self-styled godman Ashok Kharat to judicial custody till April 20 in a third case of rape against him for allegedly sexually exploiting a pregnant woman.
The special investigation team (SIT) produced Kharat for a virtual hearing in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Ichpurani as his police custody in the case ended on Monday.
The SIT presented the remand report and sought judicial custody for Kharat, a former merchant navy officer. The court then remanded him to a seven-day judicial custody till April 20.
In the third case, Kharat, who was first arrested in mid-March, is accused of sexually exploiting a seven-month pregnant woman, the wife of his office staffer.
According to the complaint lodged by the victim's husband, the accused sexually assaulted the survivor on multiple occasions, including in his office in Nashik, between November 2023 and December 2025.
Kharat also conducted a ritual with the pregnant woman at a temple in Mirgaon village of Sinnar taluka of the district, it said.
Although the victim informed her husband about her plight, he did not believe her. But when he heard about complaints of Kharat's misbehaviour with other women, he planted a spy camera in the astrologer's office to find out the truth and recorded his acts.
The employee later handed over to the police a pen drive containing objectionable videos of the 'godman'.
Kharat faces nearly a dozen cases, eight of them related to sexual assaults.
The SIT, meanwhile, has filed an application in the court demanding Kharat's custody in another case. As the court granted them the necessary permission, the team will take the accused's custody from the Nashik Road Central Jail.
Kharat will be produced in court again in the fourth case on Tuesday.
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