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Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday said attempts should be made to ensure that dates of the winter session of Parliament do not clash with Christmas.
He, however, clarified that he was not asking to curtail the House session and that the Parliament may function on December 25 if there is an emergency.
People from every religion have the right to celebrate their festivals and so do Christians. Therefore, the government should ensure that the dates do not clash with Christmas, he said.
In response, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi reminded Chowdhury that December 25 was a Sunday.
"Election is the festival of democracy and two major state elections are going on… that is why, we (government) announced the winter session from December 7 to December 29," Joshi told reporters in New Delhi.
He said people get two days to celebrate Christmas -- December 24 and 25 -- and it would be a weekend.
"All of us celebrate Christmas, and there are two holidays. If they (Congress) want a holiday (in Parliament) on December 26, it can be put forth before the business advisory committee and we will then need to extend the session by a day," Joshi said.