After 9.5% in 1st week of session, RS productivity up to 82% in 2nd

Question Hour on 11 March 2020 was lost due to adjournment while on 12 March 2020 it was dispensed for Government Legislative Business RAJYA SABHA STATEMENT

NEWDELHI:AFTER averaging a mere 9.5% productivity during the first week of the second half of the Budget session of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha has seen a spike to nearly 82% in the second week.

The Upper House was scheduled to meet for three days in the second week, interrupted by two holidays for Holi. The house outdid itself by sitting for 13 hours and 38 minutes against the scheduled 16 and 30 minutes. Only a total of 1 hour and 53 minutes was lost, considering the house sat through lunch for 3 hours and 58 minutes. This is a far cry from the first week, where the house was scheduled to meet for 28 hours and 30 minutes, but managed three hours due to disruptions over the February Delhi riots.

“Out of the 2 hours of Question Hour scheduled, one hour has been successfully completed. On 13 March 2020, 9 Starred Questions were raised during the Question Hour. The Question Hour on 11 March 2020 was lost due to forced adjournment while on 12 March 2020 it was dispensed with to take up Government Legislative Business,” said a statement by the Rajya Sabha.

The first week of proceedings was disrupted because members wanted an explanation from home minister Amit Shah on the Delhi riots, said Congress Rajya

Sabha MP Rajeev Gowda. “Members were agitated about failures of the government and Delhi police, and many had called for his resignation. He didn’t show up,” Gowda said.

“After the home minister came and faced the house, we have worked fully. We worked the previous week when the health minister and foreign minister discussed their efforts related to the Coronavirus outbreak. Last Friday, we worked through lunch and the opposition cooperated with the government... If the government does its job and takes responsibility then things will work smoothly. The opposition is keen on the House functioning and to do its job of holding the government accountable,” he added. BJP Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao, however, blamed the disruptions on the “stubbornness of the opposition”.

“The stubbornness of the opposition and their unreasonable conduct was responsible for the non-functioning of the Rajya

Sabha in the first week,” he said.

“The opposition derailed debate until discussion on Delhi violence happened. Only after it was taken up did they allow Rajya Sabha to function. This adamant attitude of opposition against spirit of parliamentary democracy,” he added.

It was on March 12, two weeks after Parliament convened, that Shah made a statement on “law and order situation in Delhi” at start of a discussion that lasted 4 hours and 15 minutes,with 21 members participating.

Shah also clarified that the government would not label any citizen “doubtful”, stressing the point that no document will be required during the National Population Register exercise.

A Rajya Sabha functionary who did not wish to be named, said, “One can assess how productive the Rajya Sabha has been in terms of the number of legislations passed.”

Ten private member bills were introduced in the Rajya Sabha. “Further discussion on two Bills, namely, the Foreign Investment in Financial Services, Critical Infrastructure and Technology Affecting National Security (Regulation) Bill, 2018 (moved by Dr. Narendra Jadhav) and Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2014 (moved by Prof MV Rajeev Gowda) were discussed. The Bills were withdrawn,” said the Rajya Sabha statement.