The Rajya Sabha lost half of its working time (34 hours) due to disruptions in the Winter Session during which the contentious triple talaq Bill also could not be passed with the Government and the opposition trading barbs over it. The truncated session started on a stormy note with the opposition creating an uproar over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
The remarks, made during the Gujarat elections campaign, led to acrimonious exchanges between the two sides in the Upper House with the Congress-led opposition demanding an apology from the Prime Minister on the issue.
The matter was, however, resolved with the intervention of Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, who helped both sides sit together and amicably resolve the dispute.
The matter ended with the sides making statements in the House, stressing that they respected the high posts of the Prime Minister as well as the former Prime Minister, and would not say anything to denigrate them.
The Opposition also raised the issue of remarks made by Union minister Anantkumar Hegde against the Constitution and the attacks on Dalits in Bhima-Koregaon in Pune district on January 1, which led to uproarious scenes and disruptions.
However, when the triple talaq Bill was introduced for consideration in the Rajya Sabha, the opposition brought two amendments in it for sending it to the Select Committee.
The House saw sharp exchanges over the issue, with the treasury benches blaming the opposition for stalling the key legislation seeking to empower women’s rights and make triple talaq a cognisable offence with jail up to three years.
However, the opposition led by the Congress was adamant to send the bill to the Select Committee for further scrutiny. The Bill would now be taken up in the Budget Session which starts later this month.
The Rajya Sabha lost 34 hours working time to such disruptions. Chairman Naidu urged members to seriously introspect and not treat Parliament as an extension of politics, which is marked by deep divisions and acrimony.
The session which started on December 15 had 13 sittings in all. The House, however, tried to make up this loss by sitting late for about three hours to complete legislative and other important businesses.