<p>Parliament’s monsoon session has ended before the scheduled date of adjournment, again raising questions that have been raised in the past. This is the seventh consecutive time that parliament has been adjourned ahead of schedule. The reason is not that the functioning of the Houses became difficult due to confrontation between the government and the Opposition, as often in the past, but that there were two holidays before the due date for adjournment, which was only four days away. It may be pointed out that these holidays were there even when the schedule was drawn up. In any case, it was decided that an early adjournment was better than to waste two days to work two other days. The government has said that the decision was taken on request from MPs, but some MPs have criticised it and said it showed the government’s indifference to parliament. </p>.<p>It was not that there was no confrontation, but the session was not a washout, as some previous sessions were. Some legislative business was done, with the Lok Sabha passing seven bills and the Rajya Sabha, five. The government’s target was higher, but it had to be content with whatever could be done. It withdrew the controversial bill on personal data protection which was before parliament to bring forward a “more comprehensive” bill. The decision to withdraw the bill was welcomed because it gave the government the opportunity to present a better bill and criticised because it has further delayed a bill that is already late. Another contentious legislation, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, which has been criticised on the ground that it would intrude into the states’ powers, has been sent to the standing committee on energy for scrutiny. This parliament has not seen many cases of withdrawal of legislation and despatch of bills for vetting by committees. These are normal parliamentary practices, but parliament has not been normal for many years. </p>.<p> This session was better than some earlier sessions because both Houses functioned for 40-50 per cent of their scheduled time. But it should be noted that more time was lost than utilised, and the first two weeks were almost completely lost because of a tussle between the government and the Opposition over the demand for a discussion on price rise. The session also saw the suspension of large numbers of MPs, protests inside and outside the House, and other unbecoming incidents. It is unfortunate that disruptions have become the norm in parliament and even the most productive session has more wasted hours than well-spent time. The government and the Opposition blame each other for the situation, and the signs are that it is unlikely to improve in the near future. </p>
<p>Parliament’s monsoon session has ended before the scheduled date of adjournment, again raising questions that have been raised in the past. This is the seventh consecutive time that parliament has been adjourned ahead of schedule. The reason is not that the functioning of the Houses became difficult due to confrontation between the government and the Opposition, as often in the past, but that there were two holidays before the due date for adjournment, which was only four days away. It may be pointed out that these holidays were there even when the schedule was drawn up. In any case, it was decided that an early adjournment was better than to waste two days to work two other days. The government has said that the decision was taken on request from MPs, but some MPs have criticised it and said it showed the government’s indifference to parliament. </p>.<p>It was not that there was no confrontation, but the session was not a washout, as some previous sessions were. Some legislative business was done, with the Lok Sabha passing seven bills and the Rajya Sabha, five. The government’s target was higher, but it had to be content with whatever could be done. It withdrew the controversial bill on personal data protection which was before parliament to bring forward a “more comprehensive” bill. The decision to withdraw the bill was welcomed because it gave the government the opportunity to present a better bill and criticised because it has further delayed a bill that is already late. Another contentious legislation, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, which has been criticised on the ground that it would intrude into the states’ powers, has been sent to the standing committee on energy for scrutiny. This parliament has not seen many cases of withdrawal of legislation and despatch of bills for vetting by committees. These are normal parliamentary practices, but parliament has not been normal for many years. </p>.<p> This session was better than some earlier sessions because both Houses functioned for 40-50 per cent of their scheduled time. But it should be noted that more time was lost than utilised, and the first two weeks were almost completely lost because of a tussle between the government and the Opposition over the demand for a discussion on price rise. The session also saw the suspension of large numbers of MPs, protests inside and outside the House, and other unbecoming incidents. It is unfortunate that disruptions have become the norm in parliament and even the most productive session has more wasted hours than well-spent time. The government and the Opposition blame each other for the situation, and the signs are that it is unlikely to improve in the near future. </p>
