Marred by disruptions over SIR, stormy monsoon session ends

One of the most eventful sessions of Parliament, which witnessed the unexpected exit of former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, ended on Thursday, marred by disruption and the passage of some important pieces of legislation.

- Saubhadra Chatterji and Smriti Kak Ramachandran

With several days washed out in protest over the special intensive revision of voter roll in Bihar and the aggressive protest against the 130th Constitution amendment bill, the Lok Sabha’s productivity slipped to 30.6%. It worked for 37 hours and 7 minutes and wasted 84 hours and five minutes—highest in the 18th Lok Sabha—according to parliamentary data. The Upper House clocked 38.88% productivity as it worked for only 41 hours and 15 minutes. Less than 10% of questions could be answered orally in both Houses.

Fourteen government bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha and a total of 15 bills were passed by both Houses during the session. House panels submitted 89 reports, the highest in the 18th Lok Sabha so far, during the session.

Anew Income Tax bill to simplify the tax law, the National Sports governance Bill that aims to reform sports administration, and The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill to ban online money games and its promotion were among the key pieces of legislation passed in the month-long session. Union home minister Amit Shah introduced the 130th Constitution amendment bill and two supplementary bills that aimed to remove chief ministers, ministers (and even the PM) if they are arrested or detained for 30 consecutive days for crimes with punishment of more than five years in jail. The three bills were referred to Joint Committees.

The amendments to the Jan Vishwas law and the insolvency and bankruptcy code amendments were referred to Select Committees of the Lok Sabha.