EXPLAINED: How did Parliament function in Monsoon Session 2021

According to PRS Legislative Research data, the Monsoon Session was the fourth least productive Lok Sabha session of the last two decades. Parliament proceedings were marred on multiple occasions as members demanded discussions on surveillance using Pegasus and repealing the farm laws. The House sat for 21 hours which is 21% of the scheduled time. This is the lowest since Winter 2016 session when Lok Sabha worked for 15% of its scheduled time, writes Ashok Patnaik.

Hyderabad: Like all other days beginning from July 19, Parliament’s Monsoon Session on Wednesday ended on a stormy note without any meaningful discussions on some key bills. On August 11 Parliament adjourned sine die having sat for a total of 17 days. Both Houses witnessed tempestuous scenes over the government’s unwillingness to allow discussion on the Pegasus snooping scandal, farm bills and the rise in prices.

Yesterday Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu broke down and said he was distressed and could not sleep to witness the sacredness of the "temple of democracy" being destroyed. Also new low was witnessed in Rajya Sabha after Congress MP Pratap Singh Bajwa climbed on the table and threw the rule book at Rajya Sabha chair on Tuesday.

Parliament functioned for less than a quarter of the scheduled time, and several Bills were passed within minutes without any procedural discussion. Despite crores of money being spent every hour, there was little that the Monsoon Session achieved in the last 17 days.

According to PRS Legislative Research data, the Monsoon Session was the fourth least productive Lok Sabha session of the last two decades. Lok Sabha was scheduled to work for six hours per day for 19 days. However, proceedings were marred on multiple occasions as members demanded discussions on surveillance using Pegasus and repealing the farm laws. The House sat for 21 hours which is 21% of the scheduled time. This is the lowest since Winter 2016 session when Lok Sabha worked for 15% of its scheduled time.

Similarly, Rajya Sabha was scheduled to meet for 112 hours over 19 days. However, it sat for 29 hours which is 29% of the scheduled time.

As an exception, only the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 was discussed for more than an hour in both Houses.

For the record, Lok Sabha did not debate any non-legislative issue. Going by PRS Legislative Research data, nine minutes were spent discussing and passing the supplementary budget of Rs 23,675 crore. This amount includes Rs 15,750 crore for the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package. Rajya Sabha had only one major debate (non-legislative) on the management of COVID-19 pandemic.

Question hour functioned for 35% of the scheduled time in Lok Sabha and 25% in Rajya Sabha. Only 20% of questions received an oral answer from ministers in both Houses.