Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad speaks in the Rajya Sabha, on Wednesday. (PTI)The Upper House set a “new normal” in its “highly productive” 249th session, which was the best in 17 years with extended sittings and record number of Bills cleared, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said on Wednesday.
Thirty-two Bills were cleared in 35 sittings in the first session of 17th Lok Sabha.
“I am glad that my optimism has come true during this session. With great pleasure, I have a turnaround story to report to all of you and the people of the country who have been patiently waiting for such a turnaround in the form of a functional House, breaking from the disruptive past,” Naidu said.
In terms of legislative output, he said, passage of 32 Bills in these 35 sittings makes it the best session in last 17 years accounting for 52 sessions.
Bills passed during this session such as the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, widely known as the triple talaq Bill, and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill are significant in terms of their impact on the country’s “social and economic landscape”, Naidu said, speaking before adjourning the House sine die.
Naidu said, “The people have witnessed during this session what a functional Parliament means, and they are acknowledging it.”
Oppn story in Rajya Sabha: strength to cross-roads
The productivity of Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session seems to bear testimony of the new political balance in the country. The large transaction of government legislative business suggest that the Opposition, which used its numerical heft in the Upper House in the last five years, seems to have lost some steam after the Lok Sabha poll results. For Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, this was a relatively satisfying session.
According to data available, the 131st session in 1984 was the most productive, with 37 Bills passed. Thirty-five Bills were passed in the 197th session in 2002.
“This session is the fifth best in this regard in the last 41 years,” said Naidu, adding that in the last five sessions (244 to 248), only 33 Bills were passed.
While productivity of the House was at 104.92 per cent in terms of utilisation of available time, this session is the best in the last five years since 2014, and coming after 17 sessions. “During the last five sessions, productivity of the House ranged from a low of 7.44 per cent to a maximum of 65.60 per cent,” he said.
Naidu also appreciated the “spirit of mutual understanding and accommodation” between the Opposition and the Treasury benches while passing Bills such as the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) and the National Medical Council, where rights of states were protected by accepting suggestions.
Naidu also appealed members to sustain the new momentum. “Having reached a new normal in this session, the task now before all of us is to sustain it without getting back to the old ways,” he said.
Soon after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Wednesday, Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and about 25 leaders from various parties discussed a range of issues. The meeting at Naidu’s chamber lasted more than 30 minutes.
