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

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