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Landmark laws to breach, mapping journey of 17th Lok Sabha
The 17th Lok Sabha cleared landmark laws witnessed the 75th anniversary of Independence and the consecration of Ram Mandir, worked through the Covid-19 pandemic, and shifted to a new building
New Delhi The 17th Lok Sabha cleared landmark laws with far-reaching effects, witnessed the 75th anniversary of Independence and the consecration of Ram Mandir, worked through the Covid-19 pandemic, and shifted to a new building, while its term coincided with the country’s growth to the world’s fifth largest economy.
These five years also saw a major security breach after 22 years when two men jumped on to the Lok Sabha floor on December 13 and spread smoke before they were caught. Acrimony between the government and the Opposition heightened and a record number of 146 Opposition MPs got suspended in six days for misconduct and a first-time member was expelled for sharing her parliamentary login credentials with a businessman.
A PRS Legislative Research study said, “Only four previous Lok Sabhas have had fewer sittings, all of which were dissolved before completing the five-year term.”
Lok Sabha officials pointed out that Parliament lost considerable days in 2020 and 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said 222 laws were passed in these five years while 202 bills were introduced and 11 bills were withdrawn by the government. According to PRS, a total of 179 bills (excluding finance and appropriation bills) were passed in these five years and “35% of bills were passed with less than an hour of discussion in the Lok Sabha. The corresponding figure for the Rajya Sabha was 34%.”
The BJP-led government revoked Article 370 on August 5, 2019. In the previous month, Parliament approved the bill to ban instant triple talaq. While it lost a session in 2020 due to Covid, last September the government convened a special session to shift to the new building and pass the women’s reservation bill, which was pending since 1996. Last year, the Digital Data Protection Bill, the country’s first data privacy law, was passed.
In his last parliamentary speech before the polls, Prime Minister hailed some of the bills as “game-changer reforms that formed a strong foundation of 21st century India”. He also hoped for more than 100% productivity in the 18th Lok Sabha.
“Reform, Perform and Transform has been the mantra for the past five years. This Lok Sabha passed many game-changer reforms and the strong foundation of 21st century India can be seen in those reforms. The country has progressed at a faster pace,” Modi said on the last day of the budget session.
Even as the government managed to pass landmark bills, at least two sets of reform bills — on agriculture and labour — faced headwinds. The government had to withdraw the three agriculture reform bills after massive protests. The four labour codes were cleared by Parliament but have not been rolled out yet.PRS Legislative Research reported that “16% of bills were referred to committees for detailed scrutiny. This is lower than corresponding figures for the previous three Lok Sabhas. Four bills were referred to joint parliamentary committees, and one [the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019] to a Rajya Sabha select committee.”
