Parliament Winter Session ends early: Fewer disruptions, higher productivity this time

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said the decision to curtail the session had the consensus of all political parties, keeping the “demand and sentiments of Members of Parliament for Christmas/year-end celebrations”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Opposition wanted to raise issues concerning the people but the government did not want to debate them. “Along with 18 other Opposition parties, we tried our best to raise issues ranging from Chinese incursion to other issues of public importance. The government should have accepted our demand and held a debate. But they did not follow rules or precedents. We let the House function smoothly and did not cause disruptions… But the government ran away away from all debates,” Kharge said while addressing the party’s general secretaries, state unit heads, and CLP leaders on Friday.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said many Opposition parties had pointed out during the beginning of the session that the “government does not have any Bills or agenda”. “The DMK, BJD, and many regional parties had demanded that the session be curtailed since it has no legislative business. Now they have got an excuse in Covid-19 and have adjourned,” he said.

In his valedictory address on Friday, Birla said nine Bills were introduced, of which seven were passed, including the supplementary demands for grants, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) and the Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill. Big-ticket proposals such as the Digital Data Protection Bill, Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill and the Higher Education Commission of India, which were not listed, will now not see the light of day before next year.

By and large, the winter session had a relatively smooth run compared to the previous few sessions when extreme acrimony between the Opposition and the Treasury benches was observed. This time, the Opposition parties largely stuck to walkouts, responding to the government turning down their demands.

The primary flashpoint was the December 9 border clash at Tawang, reports of which surfaced on December 12. The next day, when the House commenced, the Opposition members started pressing their demands for a debate, leading to adjournments. Eventually, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh read out a statement on the matter, but the Opposition’s demand for seeking clarifications was again turned down.

The session also saw the government’s push to have a say on appointments to the higher judiciary. In fact, on his very first day in the post, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar flagged the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision to strike down the NJAC Bill, which, he said, amounted to “compromise of parliamentary sovereignty”.

The House also saw heated arguments on the state of the economy during the debate on the supplementary demands for grants. One such exchange was witnessed between Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who defended the government’s handling of the macroeconomic fundamentals, and TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who derided it as “pappu” to underline its “incompetence”.

Meanwhile, in their addresses on Friday, both Birla and Dhankhar said agreements and disagreements on issues may be reflected in debates and not through disruptions. “Unless we in Parliament realise our responsibilities and shoulder the task of looking after the welfare and good of the people within a reasonable time, I have not the slightest doubt in my own mind that this Parliament will be treated by the public outside with utter contempt,” said Dhankhar.