The winter session of the Parliament ended on a bitter note with battle lines drawn between the BJP and the Opposition, particularly the Congress. The session, though coincided with the 75th-year celebrations of the adoption of the Constitution, will be remembered for the wrong reasons.
The Lok Sabha could only function for nearly 52 per cent of its scheduled time, while Rajya Sabha just 40 per cent. Only one bill, Bhartiya Vayuyaan Vidheyak, 2024, could be passed in the first six months of the NDA government.
According to the PRS Legislative Research, a legislative think tank, Question Hour could not be conducted in Rajya Sabha for 15 out of 19 days, while in Lok Sabha, Question Hour did not take place for more than 10 minutes on 12 out of 20 days as proceedings were disrupted owing to protests.
The only high point of this session was that the Constitution was discussed for 16 hours in Lok Sabha and 17 hours in Rajya Sabha to mark the 75 years of its adoption. However, what followed led to an increased schism between the treasury benches and the opposition.
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The Opposition's charge against Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly disrespecting Dr B.R. Ambedkar during his speech and the BJP’s charges that two of its MPs were injured after allegedly being pushed by Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, will reverberate on the streets and in political campaigns in the coming days.
In another first, a notice to move a motion for the removal of Vice President (Rajya Sabha Chairman) Jagdeep Dhankhar was submitted on December 10 by the Opposition as they accused the chair of partisan conduct. This notice was rejected by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha on procedural grounds. As many as 55 members of Rajya Sabha also filed a notice to initiate proceedings for the impeachment of an Allahabad High Court Judge for his views on Hindus and Muslims.
Reflecting on the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar said, “While our celebration of Samvidhan Divas in the historic Samvidhan Sadan was meant to reaffirm democratic values, our actions in this House tell a different story.”
He claimed that persistent disruptions were steadily eroding public trust in India's democratic institutions. “While we did pass the Oilfields Amendment Bill and Boilers’ Bill of 2024, and heard the statement by the minister of external affairs on India-China relations, these achievements are overshadowed by our failures.”
The government introduced key bills related to holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The bills were referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament for examination and wider consultations.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla warned members of action if any of them resorted to demonstrations and protests within the premises of Parliament.
The Parliament will again convene in January end for the budget session, which is again likely to carry the strain of the previous one.