15th Lok Sabha ends with uncharacteristic bonhomie

 As the curtains came down on the most chaotic Lok Sabha since independence, Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday deplored the disruptions it frequently witnessed over the past three years, and hoped that the new House would have a better environment.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari also deplored the disruptions in the Upper House, and called for “introspection” about the relevance of the Question Hour.

The last day of the extended winter session, however, ended on a harmonious note, with leaders from both ruling and opposition sides showering praise on each other wishing them good health and success in the Lok Sabha elections, even as some of them gave calls for “introspection” to see whether the members of the House could really do the “job” they were entrusted with.

“It became difficult for me to overcome the pain I suffered while adjourning the proceedings of the House due to frequent disruptions. They hit our parliamentary system like a thunderbolt. I am pained by our failure in that the 15th Lok Sabha has not been as productive as the previous Lok Sabhas,” said Kumar in her valedictory speech before adjourning the House sine die.

She hoped pandemonium in the Lower House would be replaced with “irrefutable logic and thoughts” in the 16th Lok Sabha after elections.