Parliament adjourned sine die after tumultuous session

New Delhi, Dec 22: A tumultuous session of Parliament came to an end on Wednesday, a day ahead of schedule, with the government and the opposition accusing each other of creating conditions that disallowed proper functioning of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker, while adjourning the respective Houses sine die soon after they assembled for the day, pointed out that the productivity during the Winter Session had been well below the potential.
The Session, which began on November 29, saw the Rajya Sabha recording 48 per cent productivity and the Lok Sabha managing 82 per cent productivity.
While the Lok Sabha lost around 18 hours and 48 minutes and the Rajya Sabha lost 45 hours and 34 minutes due to disruptions, the government managed passage of 11 Bills, including the repeal of controversial 3 Farm laws and a legislation providing for linking of Aadhar with electoral roll data.
Turbulence continued throughout the session due to the confrontation between the ruling and opposition benches over various issues and 12 members of the Rajya Sabha were suspended on December 1 for the entire session.
Naidu, in his session valedictory address, said the Rajya Sabha had performed “much below its potential” and that he took a “very critical view” of the way the House functioned.
He said the MPs should work towards constructive functioning of the House and observe decorum.
Lok Sabha Speaker Birla told the media after the adjournment that there should be debate in Parliament even if there was no agreement.
“Disagreement is the essence of Parliament. All parties should make effort, whether there is agreement or not, and debate should happen,” he said.
While Opposition parties slammed the government for not allowing them to raise issues and “bulldozing Bills”, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi accused the Opposition MPs of disallowing proper functioning of the Houses.
“The Opposition is unable to digest the 2019 mandate given to Modi. So, it is not allowing the House to run,” Joshi lamented. “This is not good for democracy,” Joshi said addressing the media.
He added: “It is most unfortunate that despite repeated efforts, the Lok Sabha witnessed ruckus last week and the Rajya Sabha witnessed it throughout.”

Replying to questions, he said the Standing Committee report on the controversial Prohibition of Child Marriage Amendment Bill is expected to be presented to Parliament during the first week of the Budget Session.
The Houses were in uproar during the winter session over the killings of farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh while the suspension of Rajya Sabha MPs led to repeated interruptions and adjournments in the upper House.
In the Upper House, 12 MPs – Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M), Phulo Devi Netam (INC), Chhaya Verma (INC), Ripun Bora (INC), Binoy Viswam (CPI), Rajmani Patel (INC), Dola Sen (TMC), Shanta Chhetri (TMC), Syed Nasir Hussain (INC), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena), Anil Desai (Shiv Sena) and Akhilesh Prasad Singh (INC) were suspended on December 1 for the whole winter session.
The suspended MPs sat on protest through the session in front of the Gandhi Statue in Parliament House.
On Tuesday, TMC’s Derek O’Brien was also suspended for the winter session.
Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of suspending members for fabricating a majority in the House to push contentious Bills like the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill.
The major Bills passed include the Bill to repeal Farm Laws, Supplementary demand for grants, Dam Safety Bill, Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill and two Bills to increase tenures of the CBI and ED chiefs.
The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill was passed in both Houses amid protests by the opposition which demanded that the Bill be sent to a parliamentary panel. Joshi, however, said the Bill came after recommendations by a Parliamentary panel and hence there was no need to send it to a committee again.
Five Bills, including The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, The Mediation Bill, The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill and The National Anti-Doping Bill, were sent to Standing Committees. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill was sent to a Select Committee of Parliament.