RS Budget session records mere 4.79% productivity

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 13

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the motion of thanks on the President’s address, the Interim Budget as well as five Bills, salvaging itself of an ignominy of a total washout of the Parliament session, the last before the next General Election.

The completion of business was a result of a thaw between the floor leaders of Opposition parties and the government at a meeting convened by House Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.

The hustle of the House helped jack up its overall productivity of the 10-day session to 4.79 per cent, about which the Chairman made a reference in his valedictory speech, terming the Budget session as a “wasted opportunity”.

During the 10 House sittings, 39 hours 51 minutes of the available 48 hours were lost in disruptions. The agenda was accomplished in a jiffy in the context of all through adversarial stand of the Opposition parties against the government resulting in a washout of the House proceedings.

Among the Bills passed were Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill—seeking to remove leprosy as ground for divorce—and the Constitutional (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill.

Naidu, who took the initiative of presenting a “Report Card” on the House’s five-year performance, said since June 2014, the Rajya Sabha productivity (time available and that utilised for legislative business) was only 60 per cent.

Key Bills cleared 

• Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill, 2019 providing 10% quota for economically weaker section
• Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 for introduction of GST and nine other related Bills
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes ( Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bills, 2015 and 2018 to overturn apex court order injecting safeguards on arrests
• Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018 to prevent sexual abuse of children
• Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018
• Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018