15th Lok Sabha goes down in history as most useless ever
AFTER THE STORM Harmony, and a little work, on last day of winter session
NEW DELHI: The 15th Lok Sabha came to an ignominious end on Friday as the least productive House of all time, leaving a legacy of unfinished business, unprecedented disruptions, a government and opposition constantly at odds, all-round bad behavior by members and even a pepper spray attack.
On the last day of the winter session, bickering MPs finally got down to business, passing a bill that provides protection to whistleblowers. But having put in only 22 hours of work out of 154 hours the entire session, it was too little too late.
After a whole session of slanging matches that peaked when the Telangana bill was brought to the House, members ended the day on a harmonious note, generously showering praise on each other.
Setting the tone, Sushma Swaraj, leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, complimented Congress president Sonia Gandhi as a “graceful leader” — a far cry from her threat 10 years ago to tonsure her head if Gandhi became prime minister. “We oppose each other but we are not enemies... We oppose ideologies... We are going back with so many sweet and sour memories,” Swaraj said.
Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, in turn, said he was “obliged” to the BJP for its help in the passage of the Telangana bill. Singling out Swaraj, he said, “Aap ki baat mein mithaas hai, mithai khane se bhi woh mithaas nahi hoti (your tone is sweet, sweeter than sweets).”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 >> 1ST QUESTION IN RS, P11 15th Lok Sabha was the worst performing House since Independence, with the highest number of bills (70) lapsing in a five-year term
Lok Bills Bills Bills
Sabha introduced passed lapsed
UPA-1 vs UPA-2 2004 2009 37 70
219 248
177
289 87% 61%
Hits: Lokpal, food security, land acquisition, street vendors, whistleblowers and Telangana bills Productivity
2013-14 WINTER SESSION: UNPRECEDENTED LOWS
Did business for only 22 out of 154 allotted hours
Nov-Dec 2013 Feb 2014
29 10 1 12 8% 21%
Misses: Grievance redressal, real estate (regulation and development), women’s reservation bills Manmohan Singh delivered two speeches on his last day as PM in Parliament, where, ironically, he has often been accused of remaining silent. In front of a batch of IAS probationers, Singh quipped, “These are exciting times to be living in India,” while in his last speech in Lok Sabha, which has seen new lows this session, he held out hope that the next election will “give birth to a new atmosphere”. The presence of Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur in the House added to the farewell mood
>> ‘EXCITING TIMES IN INDIA’, P11 >> NOT A NATURAL LEADER, P11