The Monsoon Session of Parliament ended four days ahead of schedule after both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die.
How did the two Houses perform?
Lok sabha- The session was the second-least productive in the 17th Lok Sabha so far.
The House functioned for 48% of the scheduled sitting time.
This is also the seventh consecutive time in this Lok Sabha when a session has been cut short ahead of the scheduled date.
With 16 sittings against the scheduled 18, it was the second-shortest working session in terms of sittings.
Rajya Sabha- The Upper House met for 38 hours during this session while 47 hours were lost to disruptions.
The productivity of the House was 44% in which five Bills were passed.
The Upper House recorded its worst performance in the 2021 Monsoon Session, when it reported a productivity of 29%.
What about the legislative activity of the Houses?
The Centre aimed to introduce 24 Bills and move 14 pending ones, but only a total of 6 Bills were introduced and 5 were passed in the Monsoon Session.
Bills passed by Parliament (after Rajya Sabha nod)
The National Anti-Doping Bill 2021,
The Indian Antarctic Bill 2022,
The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2022,
The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and
The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022
Bill withdrawn- The Centre withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 from Lok Sabha.
Pending bills- At the end of the Monsoon Session, 35 Bills were pending in Parliament, as per a report by the PRS Legislative Research.
Question hour- In 16 sittings each in the two Houses, Question Hour was held for the entire duration only on two days in Lok Sabha and four days in Rajya Sabha.
What about the non-legislative business?
Distruptions- The first two weeks of the Monsoon Session had repeated disruptions and adjournments due to continuous protests and sloganeering by the Opposition over demands for debate on the continuing price rise.
Suspension of MPs- Four Lok Sabha members and 23 Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended for violating norms.
Misuse of investigating agencies- The Opposition attacked the Centre for misusing central investigating agencies to settle political scores.
Promotion of sports- Another debate, on the need to promote sports in India, was taken up in the Lok Sabha, but could not be concluded.
