New Delhi, Aug 13: Parliament’s Monsoon Session ended on Thursday after 19 scheduled sittings, with the Lok Sabha passing 11 Bills amid repeated disruptions that curtailed Question Hour and limited debate on several pieces of legislation.
Lok Sabha productivity stood at 19 per cent, while the Rajya Sabha recorded 39 per cent, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on the final day.
The session ended amid another confrontation between the government and Opposition. The final sitting began with Opposition MPs raising slogans demanding accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the police action against students protesting in Delhi on July 20. Treasury bench members responded with counter-slogans.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the House during the rendition of Vande Mataram, following which Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House sine die.
The session began on July 20 with 28 Bills listed as pending. By its conclusion, the Lok Sabha had passed 11 Bills, several of them amid Opposition protests and after only a few minutes of discussion.
The MSME Development Amendment Bill and the Taxation and Other Laws Amendment Bill were each passed after around three minutes of discussion. The Registration of Births and Deaths Amendment Bill, Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill and Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill took about four minutes each.
The Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill and Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill were cleared after roughly five minutes of discussion, while the Tribunals Reforms Bill received about 12 minutes and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Amendment Bill around 14 minutes.
In contrast, the Public Examination law received around 11 hours of debate, making it among the most extensively discussed legislation of the session.
Several Bills were passed by voice vote amid Opposition sloganeering, limiting opportunities for detailed debate. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill was also passed by the Rajya Sabha on the final day.
Question Hour repeatedly curtailed
Repeated disruptions also affected Parliament’s question-and-answer mechanism. By August 10, the Lok Sabha had failed to complete Question Hour for three consecutive weeks, with that day marking the 16th occasion during the session when the exercise could not be completed.
The Opposition had sought discussions on a range of issues, including the NEET-UG controversy, alleged irregularities concerning donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, and the police action against students protesting in Delhi.
The standoff over the students’ protest intensified in the final days of the session. The government maintained that it was willing to discuss the issue, while the Opposition demanded action against Shah.
On Wednesday, Shah offered to participate in a debate and respond to Opposition questions. The Opposition, however, continued to demand his resignation, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi holding the Home Ministry responsible for the police action.
FCRA Bill sent to Joint Parliamentary Committee
Not all contentious legislation was pushed through during the session. The FCRA Amendment Bill, which faced strong Opposition criticism, was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
The move allows MPs and other stakeholders additional time to examine the proposed changes before the legislation returns to Parliament for further consideration.
The session’s low productivity and repeated disruptions again brought the functioning of Parliament under scrutiny, even as the government secured passage of several key Bills.
