New Delhi: Productivity of both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha improved during the Monsoon session, which ended on Friday as the upper house worked for 79.9 per cent of the scheduled hours, while the lower house transacted business for 77.9 per cent of its allotted hours. Overall, during the session, 17 Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha, which passed 14 Bills while nine bills were passed by the Rajya Sabha. A major highlight of the session was the suspension of six Congress members for “highly unbecoming” behaviour.
Briefing reporters after both the Houses were adjourned sine die, parliamentary affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said that this is an achievement considering it was a short session and a considerable time was devoted to discussions on important issues and elections to the offices of President and vice-president.
“The Session provided 19 sittings spread over a period of 26 days. The productivity of Lok Sabha was 77.94 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha was 79.95 per cent,” Mr Kumar said.
Heated debate and verbal duels were witnessed between the Opposition and treasury benches during the session on vital issues like cow-lynching and mob-violence, agrarian crisis and the attack on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat allegedly by BJP workers.
The minister also said a special sitting was organised to mark the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement during the session.
Mr Kumar termed the extension of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to Jammu and Kashmir as a “historic achievement” and said passing of related bills will lead to the economic integration of the state with the rest of the country.
However, taking a contrarian view, research body PRS Legislative Research claimed that the Lok Sabha worked for 67 per cent of the scheduled hours and the Rajya Sabha for 72 per cent, agencies reported.
Fifteen Bills were introduced during the session and nine were passed, other than that the two appropriation bills and three bills were withdrawn, the research body claimed.
