Parliament

to forgo their salary for 23 days when Parliament did not function.

Addressing BJP MPs on the party’s foundation day, Modi kept the Congress in his line of fire and spelled out an exercise by party lawmakers and ministers for reaching out to villages with substantial Dalit and tribal population through implementation of his government’s seven key welfare schemes.

In the session that began on March 5, the Lok Sabha lost 127 hours and 45 minutes while the Rajya Sabha lost more than 121 hours. The notices of no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the government could not be taken up in the Lower House.

Parties across the line protested against a variety of issues — from special status to Andhra Pradesh and the PNB-Nirav Modi bank scam to the demand for a Cauvery water management board and the vandalising of statues.

Lok Sabha

In her summary report, speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the House functioned for a total of 34 hours and 5 minutes during the 29 sittings.

A total of 127 hours and 45 minutes were affected due to “interruptions and forced adjournments”. Around 9 hours and 47 minutes went in to transact urgent government business, Mahajan said.

According to her, out of the 580 starred questions, answers were given to 17 of them in the floor of the House and this translates to “0.58” questions being answered on an average every day.

Just five bills were passed — including The Finance Bill 2018, The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2017 — and five were introduced during in this session.

Rajya Sabha

Do not make the Rajya Sabha a “clog in the wheel” of progress, House chairman Venkaiah Naidu cautioned MPs before adjourning the Upper House, which sat for 44 hours and lost over 121 hours. Of the 419 starred questions listed, only five were replied to orally by the concerned ministers. The Question Hour could not be taken up for 27 days “due to pandemonium and interruptions in the House over one or the other issue”, Naidu said.