The Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die on Tuesday bringing the curtain down on the winter session of Parliament.
Chairman Hamid Ansari observed that during the session that began on November 19 a “fair amount of legislative business was transacted and useful discussions were held on quests of public concern.”
In his valedictory address, Mr. Ansari said the question hour was lost on five days due to disruptions and members had to think about this because questions in the House were an important instrument through which information was elicited and the government’s accountability ensured.
He said a significant achievement of this session was the decision of the Rules Committee to streamline the question hour procedure to ensure greater coverage of the questions with wider opportunities to members to raise supplementaries.
23 days of sittings
Information circulated showed that during the 23 days of sittings, the House sat for 100 plus hours and while 13 plus hours were lost due to interruptions, 14 plus hours were made up by late sitting or skipping lunch recess. The House took up five call attention motions, including the government’s changing position on climate change, preparations for the Commonwealth Games; disinvestment in profit-making Central Public Sector Enterprises, present status of World Trade Organisation negotiations, and the progress of relief to victims of 1984 riots and measures being taken to punish the guilty.
