Both Houses of Parliament adjourned sine die a day ahead of schedule

New Delhi, December 22, 2021

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Wednesday, a day ahead of schedule soon after they began proceedings for the day.

Soon after the Lok Sabha assembled at 11 a.m., Speaker Om Birla said that the House was heading towards the closure of the winter session.

Addressing the members, he said that during this session, the House had 18 sessions with 83 hours 12 minutes. The productivity of the House was recorded at 82 per cent while 18 hours and 46 minutes were lost due to protests.

"During this period, 12 Bills were introduced in the House while nine Bills were passed which includes the withdrawal of the three farm laws, Bills related to extension of the service tenure of the Directors of Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation, the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Amendment) Bill and Supplementary Demands of grants," Birla informed the House, adding that on December 2, the House recorded the highest productivity of 204 per cent.

He also said that during the winter session, a total of 91 starred questions were replied to by the government, 563 questions were answered during the Question Hour while several important issues were discussed under Rule 377.

The Speaker said that 44 reports of the Department-related Standing Committee were presented in the House and 2,058 papers were laid by the Ministers.

"The House also discussed the situation of Covid-19 and climate change. The discussion on Covid was 12-hour long in which 99 members participated and shared their experiences with the House. The discussion on climate change was held for over six hours and the discussion remained inconclusive," the Speaker said.

He also informed that a six-member Mongolian parliamentary delegation led by Mongolian Parliament Chairman Gombojav Zandanshatar visited Parliament and witnessed the proceedings of Lok Sabha on December 1.

The House also continued its discussion on the Private Member Bills. The discussions were held on the Bill brought by the BJP Member Janardan Singh Sigriwal and on Compulsory Voting and discussion on the perks of the Aaganwadi workers brought by the BSP Member Ritesh Pandey, the Lok Sabha Speaker said, adding that the debate remained inconclusive.

The opposition members, since last week, continued protests against the government, demanding the sacking of Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Misra Teni from the Union Council of Ministers ove the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident.

In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge tried to raise the issue of alleged land scam in Ayodhya but the Chair did not allow.

Chairman M. Venkiah Naidu said that the house could not function properly and everyone should cooperate and then adjourned the house sine die.

During the winter session, the opposition and the government had been at loggerheads on suspension of 12 MPs which could not be resolved and on Tuesday another MP of of the Trinamool Congress Derek O'Brien was suspended.

The opposition alleged that the government had got the MPs suspended so that it could push Bills through the House.

IANS