New Delhi, Jan 5 (UNI) The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu observing that although Parliament was a political institution, it cannot be an extension of politics that is
marked by deep divisions and acrimony.
In an indirect reference to the acrimonious differences between the government and the Opposition parties over the Triple Talaq Bill, Mr Naidu expressed concern over the disruptions in the House and extolled members to review, recall and introspect how they conducted the proceedings of the House.
Soon after Question Hour ended, the Chairman said, 'The winter session of Rajya Sabha is coming to an end. Though the House could transact some important business, it could have been better than what it proved to be.'
'The legislatures of our country including the apex Parliament need to quickly evolve in the way we conduct out proceedings so as to meet the needs of our evolving nation,' he observed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of the House Arun Jaitley and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad watched.
Mr Naidu said it was unfortunate that despite discharging its responsibilities to a great extent, the House ends up losing some degree of the esteem of the people on account of disruptions and substantial loss of functional time.
'Intense and passionate submissions and debates are the order of democracy, but disruptions are certainly not. We need to extend ourselves to make up for the missed opportunities and time.'
He, however, appreciated members going beyond party line to speak in one voice and in a restrained manner regarding Mr Kulbhushan Jadhav meeting his family members in a Pakistan jail.
He also mentioned the 'record' of taking of all questions during the Question Hour on January 2 after 15 long years and said the need of the hour was to carry this spirit further.
While observing that the House had its Highs and Lows, he said the high point was that both the sides of the House reiterated their commitment to respect and uphold the high office of the Prime Minister and the former Prime Minister. The `low’ was the despite discharging its responsibilities to a greater extent, the House ends up losing some degree of the esteem of the people on account of disruptions and substantial loss of functional time.
He said it was a matter of deep discomfort that the House lost 34 hours of valuable working time as against the period of 41 hours of business transacted.
The business transacted during the 13 sittings of the session, nine government Bills were passed despite disruptions and adjournments, 19 Private Members’ Bills were introduced and one Private Member’s Bill was discussed at length.
The House also deliberated the important issues of the state of the economy and employment generation besides high levels of air pollution in Delhi.
During the five days when the Question Hour was taken up, 46 starred questions were orally answered besides 51 members making zero hour submissions and another 28 members making special mentions on matters of public importance.
He bid adieu to three retiring Congress members including Dr Karan Singh, Janardhan Dwivedi and Mr Parvez Hashmi and said the House will miss their contributions.
UNI GP AE 1458