With the Opposition boycotting proceedings in solidarity with 25 suspended Congress members, have increased the time the House functioned to 40% as against 8% in Rajya Sabha till Friday, according to PRS data.
Amidst an uneasy calm in Lok Sabha over the past four days, the House passed four bills, had a discussion and gave an opportunity to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to make a statement without the familiar interruptions.
With the Opposition boycotting proceedings in solidarity with 25 suspended Congress members, have increased the time the House functioned to 40% as against 8% in Rajya Sabha till Friday, according to PRS data.
But, several MPs were of the view that the though the business proceeded smoothly, it lacked ethical sanctity in absence of the Opposition, which forms a critical part of the parliamentary system.
The House passed the Repealing and Amending (fourth) Bil, Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill and Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill in four days. Both Houses had remained paralysed amidst a standoff over the Opposition demand for resignations of Swaraj and chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
However, pandemonium is set to return Lok Sabha from Monday when Opposition returns to the House, leaving uncertain the fate of the GST bill. An indication of the Congress strategy came from senior Congress leader Anand Sharma in the Rajya Sabha. Congress MPs allowed introduction of the private members' Bills but rushed into the well to resume ruckus as soon as deputy chairman sought further debate on private member Avinash Pande's Bill to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Sharma made it clear that no debate, not even on private members' bills and resolutions, will be allowed until Government comes out with its response to the Opposition demand for action against the BJP leaders. The House was adjourned. Even on Friday, members like Jayprakash Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav sought withdrawal of the MPs' suspension before staging walkout.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged Congress President Sonia Gandhi to reconsider blockade of Parliament to let it function for at least the remaining four sittings in view of the clarification given by Swaraj in Lok Sabha on Thursday. He said “it is time that collectively, the tit-for-tat approach is brought to an end."
At the beginning of the Session, government listed a number of Bills that were to be taken up. With Session ending next week, legislations related to Whistleblower’s Protection, Juvenile Justice, among others, remain pending.
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