India's Monsoon Session of Parliament ended on Thursday when both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die, having passed 12 bills since the session opened on July 20 amid repeated disruptions and confrontations between the government and the Opposition.
India's Monsoon Session of Parliament ends with 12 bills passed and low productivity in both Houses
India's Monsoon Session of Parliament ended on Thursday when both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die, having passed 12 bills since the session opened on July 20 amid repeated disruptions and confrontations between the government and the Opposition.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the session was successful in legislative terms but fell short on debate and discussion. He attributed the low productivity figures — 19 percent in the Lok Sabha and 39 percent in the Rajya Sabha against total time allotted — largely to Opposition disruptions, while noting that NDA members and some Opposition MPs did participate in debates.
Rijiju said only one bill in the Lok Sabha, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act concerning paper leaks and unfair means in examinations, underwent a full discussion; 11 others were passed without discussion. The same legislation was also discussed in the Rajya Sabha.
On its final day, the Rajya Sabha dispensed with Zero Hour and Question Hour and passed the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill by voice vote before Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan adjourned the House sine die after highlighting its performance during the session.
The Rajya Sabha had seen disruptions over several issues during the session, including police action against students protesting an alleged NEET paper leak and allegations concerning the theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. A dispute also arose after Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that people associated with the BJP carried out a purification ritual on a stage in Haldwani after he addressed a Congress rally there on August 8.
In the Lok Sabha, proceedings on the final day were disrupted by Opposition sloganeering shortly after the traditional playing of Vande Mataram. BJP and Opposition groups also held counter-protests at the Makar Dwar steps, with the BJP protesting against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over the Congress party's position on ongoing protests in Jharkhand.
- The source does not state the full list of the 11 bills passed in the Lok Sabha without discussion.
- The source does not state the specific substance or key provisions of the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill.
- The source does not state the total number of sitting days in the session or how that compares to previous Monsoon Sessions.
- The source does not state what investigation, if any, was initiated into the Haldwani purification ritual allegation.
- The source does not state the specific nature of the ongoing protests in Jharkhand that formed the basis of the BJP's counter-protest against Rahul Gandhi.
- The source does not include any response from the Congress party or Opposition collectively to Rijiju's characterisation of their conduct during the session.
Read the original at The Times of India