JOIN USThe three-month-long Budget Session of Parliament concluded on Wednesday with the government taking pride in the “most productive” session which saw the passage of 24 bills.
However, it was the opposition that had the last laugh as it forced the nearly year-old Modi government to refer its marquee legislations — the land acquisition and the GST bills — to select committees for scrutiny.
The session also saw the revival of a splintered opposition which cornered the government on a host of issues, including the CAG strictures on Nitin Gadkari-linked Purti Group and the release of Kashmiri separatist leader Masarat Alam Bhat.
The passage of key legislations, including the long-pending Land Boundary Agreement Bill, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, the Coal Mines Bill, and the Black Money Bill, would bring cheer to the Modi government which completes one year in office on May 26.
It would have liked to see the passage of the Goods and Services Tax Bill and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015. But a vociferous opposition forced the government to refer the two legislations for examination by parliamentary panels.
The government also faced the embarrassment of having to amend the motion of thanks to the President for his address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. CPM leader Sitaram Yechury pressed for the amendment to register regret on the lack of action by the government to curb corruption and black money.
“It has been a good session for us,” said Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.
History repeated itself after 36 years in the Rajya Sabha which passed a private members’ bill seeking equal opportunities to transgenders moved by Tiruchi Siva of the DMK.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the Budget Session was the most productive during the last decade with the Lok Sabha working for 117 per cent of the scheduled working hours and the Rajya Sabha reporting a productivity of 101 per cent.
“In terms of bills passed by both Houses, the last one year witnessed a record performance. A total of 46 bills have been passed by both the Houses during this one year, which is the best performance in the last six years,” Naidu said.
He dismissed the Opposition charge that the government was “bulldozing” its agenda through Parliament with “scant regard” for procedures.