Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday adjourned the Lower House of the Parliament sine die (with no appointed date for resumption) two days ahead of the scheduled end of the Monsoon Session on August 13.

The productivity of the House stood at 22% as it could function for only 21 hours and 14 minutes, while it was supposed to sit for 96 hours during the session, Birla said.

“The productivity of the House remained below our expectations due to repeated interruptions,” the Speaker said. As many as 20 Bills were passed during the session.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament has seen several disruptions over the past few weeks as the government and the Opposition reached an impasse over discussion into allegations that the Pegasus spyware was used to spy on several politicians, journalists and activists in India.

The government has refused to hold discussions on the allegations of surveillance, while the Opposition has repeatedly insisted on deliberating on the matter. The Opposition accused the government of “suppressing their voice” by not allowing a discussion on the matter. They also criticised the government “bulldozing” Bills without proper discussion.

Rajya Sabha

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday condemned the conduct of some Opposition MPs.

On Tuesday, MPs of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress had protested in the Rajya Sabha, climbing atop officers’ tables and throwing files during a discussion on the new farm laws. They demanded that the Centre withdraw farm laws and alleged that the discussion proposed by the government was a “bluff”.

On Wednesday, Naidu started proceedings of the House at 11 am by reading out a statement on the incident. “I am distressed by the way the way the sacredness was destroyed yesterday,” he said. “When some members sat on the table, some members climbed on the table of the House, perhaps to be more visible with such acts of sacrilege.”

Naidu said he had a “sleepless night” and added: “I struggle to find out the reason or provocation for forcing this august house to hit such a low yesterday.”

He then adjourned the Rajya Sabha till noon as Opposition MPs again started shouting slogans against the Narendra Modi-led government.

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