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Parliament’s special session scores high on productivity
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 became the first legislation to be passed in the new Parliament building.
New Delhi The four-day special session of Parliament that saw the passage of historical women’s reservation bill has turned out to be one of the most productive in the recent past in terms of utilisation of time and lengthy debates.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who adjourned the House sine die past midnight on Thursday, announced that the productivity of the session for the Lower House stood at 132% while the proceedings lasted for 31 hours.
“This session will be recorded as a historic session in parliamentary history, as Parliament started its journey from its New Building during this session,” Birla remarked.
On Monday (September 18), the first day of the short yet impactful session, lawmakers of both the Houses — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — held a discussion on the 75-year journey of Parliament in its old building. Birla said the discussion lasted for 6 hours and 43 minutes, with 36 members participating.
The Rajya Sabha discussed the issue for 6 hours and 42 minutes, and saw the participation of 34 lawmakers in the debate, according to PRS Legislative Research.
The next day, a special programme was arranged in the Central Hall of the old building, followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other lawmakers walking down to the new Parliament building, a short distance away in the same complex.
In the special session, which was initially scheduled from September 18 to 22, the Rajya Sabha’s productivity stood at 128%, according to PRS Legislative Research.
The Upper House held a discussion on India’s successful lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3. Initiated by defence minister Rajnath Singh, the discussion on “India’s glorious space journey marked by successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3” went on for 12 hours and 25 minute with the participation of 87 members.
The Lok Sabha discussed Chandrayaan-3 success for 6 hours and 43 minutes, and 30 MPs took part in it.
On Tuesday, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 or the women’s reservation bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The bill which aimed to reserve 33% seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was cleared in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, and in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday -- becoming the first legislation to be passed in the new Parliament building.
The Upper House spent more than 12 hours on the landmark women’s reservation bill, making it one of the longest debates on a legislation in the past several years, a functionary said. Sixty-eight members or more than 26% of the total MPs participated in the historic debate in the Rajya Sabha that led to the passage of the women reservation bill.
The previous two sessions — budget and monsoon — in this calendar year saw both Houses function partially amid disruptions and adjournments. In the budget session, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha could utilise just 33% and 24% of their allotted time respectively, while the figure marginally improved and stood at 43% and 55% respectively, in the monsoon session.
“The attendance and the functioning of the session was impressive. I have to congratulate the MPs but also give full credit to the agenda of this session,” P Sreedharan, former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, said. “The women’s reservation bill is a sensitive issue for all political parties and they ensured that the discussions take place to put forward their arguments for or against the bill.”
He added: “This also shows that if the agenda of the House is important, the lawmakers will be eager to participate.”
Ahead of the special session, the government listed The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023; The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2022; The Post Office Bill, 2023; and The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023 for passage. However, none of the bills was taken up after the Union Cabinet cleared the women’s reservation bill on Monday.
