Lok Sabha lost 34 hours; Rajya Sabha worked 9 hours

Daily protests by the Opposition demanding a statement from the Prime Minister on the Lalit Modi controversy and the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh led to an acrimonious Monsoon session of Parliament, which ended here on Thursday.

As a result, the government failed to push two key reform Bills – on goods and services tax and land acquisition.

From July 21 to August 13, the Lok Sabha had a total 17 sittings of 47 hours and 19 minutes, while it lost 34 hours and 4 minutes due to disruptions and adjournments, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said while adjourning the House.

The Rajya Sabha, where the government is in minority, was a complete washout. It worked for about nine hours and lost 82 hours to disruptions and adjournments.

The stormy session, which saw continuous slogan shouting by the Congress and Left parties, raising various issues, also led to suspension for 25 Congress MPs from the Lok Sabha for five days for carrying placards in the Well of the House.

“Though members have the right to protest, this is not the way,” said Mahajan, adding that she had even called an all-party meeting to sort out the issue but members continued with their protest.

“As a last option, I had to resort to suspension on August 3,” she added.

The Speaker’s action had brought several Opposition parties together who jointly boycotted the House for five days. What drowned the proceedings of the Lok Sabha since July 21 was the Congress members’ demand for resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over the Lalit Modi controversy and ouster of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the Vyapam scam.

They also demanded a statement or a discussion in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, a day before the House was to end, on the request of Swaraj, the Speaker admitted Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s motion on the issue, which saw Swaraj tearing into the Congress, listing out scams under its rule, and ended up being a slugfest between BJP and Congress.

On the last day, too, the Opposition parties walked out of the Lower House raising a variety of issues, including the Prime Minister’s reply to charges against Swaraj, Raje and Chouhan.