Protest, disruptions and chaos: How productive was Parliament Winter Session

NEW DELHI: The Winter Session of Parliament proved to be the most unproductive in more than a year as the proceedings saw regular disruptions. The session, which was held from November 25 and December 20, was marred with protests, sloganeering and a scuffle as the opposition demanded discussion on Adani row and later, an apology from Union home minister Amit Shah over Dr BR Ambedkar remark.

The Lok Sabha witnessed major disruptions this session and lost over 65 hours. In the Winter Session, the Lower House lost a total of 65 hours and 15 minutes due to interruptions, highest in all the three sessions of the year. Lok Sabha lost 5 hour 37 minutes in session 1 and one hour 53 minutes in session 2.


This means that over Rs 97,87,50,000 of taxpayers' money went down the drain due to disruptions in Lok Sabha proceedings alone. The cost of running Parliament session is over Rs 2.5 lakh per minute.

According to PRS Legislative Research, Lok Sabha worked for 52 per cent of its scheduled time with 20 sittings.

In Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called upon parties to rise above political differences and restore the sanctity of parliamentary discourse, striking a note of balance amid opposition's charge that he has often been partisan.

He said the House effectively functioned for just 43 hours and 27 minutes with a productivity of merely 40.03 per cent during the Winter Session.

At a media briefing, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju blamed the opposition, particularly the Congress, stating that their persistent demonstrations, despite a prior understanding to ensure Parliament's functioning, was the main factor contributing to reduced productivity.

He emphasised that all political parties should consider this concerning situation, and added that in his capacity as the minister responsible for parliamentary affairs, he would maintain dialogue with opposition leaders.

Throughout the session, Lok Sabha saw the introduction of five bills and passed four of them. Three bills received approval in the Rajya Sabha.

Additionally, a dedicated session was conducted in the 'Samvidhan Sadan' to observe Constitution Day on November 26.

The Question Hour, functioned inadequately this session particularly in Rajya Sabha where it was non-functional for 15 out of 19 days. In Lok Sabha, Question Hour did not function for more than 10 minutes on 12 out of 20 days.