Winter Session in December, UPA did it too: govt

The government will call the Winter Session of Parliament in December and its dates will be announced soon, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said on Tuesday while citing precedents during the UPA rule to reject the Congress' allegations of "delay".

Kumar said the opposition party is suffering from "selective amnesia" as during the Congress-led UPA rule, Winter Sessions were held in December 2008 and December 2013.

"Usually, care is taken not to overlap the Parliament session with Assembly elections. It has been done so in the past also," he said when asked about the Congress' accusation that the government was sabotaging the Winter Session.

He said the Congress was levelling allegations out of desperation and frustration as it would be routed in Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

On Monday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had accused the government of sabotaging the Winter Session of Parliament.

The Winter Session is traditionally convened in the third week of November and lasts till the third week of December.

"The writing on the wall is loud and clear that the Congress will lose both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly polls and now, out of frustration, it is making such wild accusations," Kumar said, adding that the Congress speaking about democracy considering its history is paradoxical.

Asserting that Modi government is committed to parliamentary democracy, Kumar said, "The Winter Session will be held in the month of December and dates will be announced soon."