'Current Lok Sabha lost 24% time due to disruptions'

About 24 per cent of the current Lok Sabha's time has been lost due to disruptions and adjournments in the House till May this year while nearly 50 hours were wasted in the monsoon session which ended on Monday, three days ahead of its scheduled conclusion.

Of the total 233 working days in the 13th Lok Sabha, 57 days have been lost in disruptions, according to a letter written by BJP whip Kirit Somaiya to Speaker Manohar Joshi.

The time lost amounts to 355 hours out of the 1574 hours for Parliamentary business.

As compared to this, the time lost during the 11th Lok Sabha was 5.28 per cent and in the last Lok Sabha 10.66 per cent. Only 45 of the 858 hours were wasted on disruptions in the 11th Lok Sabha and around 66 of 642 hours in the previous one.

The maximum time lost in adjournments in the present Lok Sabha was due to the Tehelka expose during the budget session of 2001.

Business remained paralysed in the House for the entire last week over the petrol pump issue, forcing the Speaker to abruptly end the session abruptly on Monday.    

First Published: Aug 13, 2002 18:11 IST