Imphal: The eighth session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly will be held from September 2 to 7, but will have only three sitting days, according to a provisional calendar issued by the Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday.
The limited duration has drawn criticism from the Opposition, with Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader K Meghachandra calling for more sitting days to allow discussion on the situation in the state.
Secretary of the Manipur Legislative Assembly Rohit Sapam issued the provisional calendar, outlining the legislative business for the three sittings.
The first sitting on September 2 will include obituary references, presentation of the Business Advisory Committee report, presentation of the First Batch of Demand for Supplementary Grants for 2026-27 and introduction of government Bills.
The second sitting on September 3 will include a question-and-answer session followed by a general discussion on the First Batch of Demand for Supplementary Grants for 2026-27.
The final sitting on September 7 will include another question-and-answer session, discussion and voting on the supplementary grants, introduction of the Appropriation Bill, and consideration and passage of government Bills.
A meeting of the Assembly’s Business Advisory Committee was held earlier under the chairmanship of Speaker Th Satyabrata.
Reacting to the three-day schedule, Meghachandra said the session should be extended to facilitate debate and discussion on the prevailing situation in Manipur.
“We need to have a debate and discussion on the present situation in the state. If we do not have enough sitting days, there will not be any meaningful debate and discussion. If there is no debate, there cannot be healthy democracy and healthy administration,” he said.
Meghachandra also said the Assembly was falling short of the prescribed annual sitting norms.
“As per the rules, the minimum number of Assembly sittings should be 50 days in a year. This year, we have had far fewer sittings. It is a violation of the Assembly guidelines. We need more sitting days so that the voice of the people can be discussed in the House,” said Meghachandra, the Congress MLA from Wangkhem Assembly constituency.
He said the Congress had submitted a dissent note on the issue for the record and reiterated the party’s demand for extending the duration of the session.
The seventh session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly was held in March.