Parliament roundup: LS adjourned sine dine; RS passes Finance Bill

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha session was on Wednesday brought to a sudden end, two days before the scheduled culmination of the session during which the budgetary exercise was the highlight. [caption id=“attachment_2777346” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress members during the ongoing session in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. PTI[/caption] Ten bills, including the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and the Anti-Hijacking Bill, were passed during the three-week session which saw no adjournment due to disruptions. The Eighth Session of the 16th Lok Sabha, which commenced on 25 April, had 13 sittings spread over 92 hours and 21 minutes. “I am happy to inform you that in the recent past this is the first session in which House was not adjourned even for a single minute due to interruptions and I thank the entire House for cooperation extended to the Chair,” Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said in her valedictory address. The session, which was initially the second part of the Budget session, was a new one as the House was prorogued after the first phase that ended on 10 March. This session was to conclude on 13 May but was brought to the sudden end on Wednesday. The session also saw discussion on the alleged irregularities in Agusta Westland Helicopter deal during which the government and Congress traded charges.

Productivity of question hour was at 27%, the highest it has been in 15 years pic.twitter.com/3oSbwB7cFp

— PRS Legislative (@PRSLegislative) May 11, 2016

In response to the Calling Attention, the concerned Minister made statement and also replied to the clarifications sought by the members. Another highlight was the passage of the Budget in respect of Uttarakhand for 2016-17. The Hill state was brought under President’s rule on March 27 which was revoked on Wednesday. The drought situation in several parts of the country was also discussed. Some of the important Bills passed are the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016; the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015; the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, as Reported by Joint Committee; and the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2016. Motion for reference of one Bill namely, the Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to the Joint Committee of the Houses was also adopted. The House also held one short duration discussion under rule 193 regarding drought and drinking water crisis in many states and need to consider inter-linking of rivers and water resource management. Rajya Sabha passes Finance and Appropriation Bill Making an impassioned plea to safeguard parliament’s powers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday asked the Congress party to reconsider its opposition to the Goods and Services Tax Bill and withdraw its insistence on handing over dispute resolution under GST to the Supreme Court. “If India has to grow, please reconsider your position on having a provision (GST Bill) that would surrender legislative jurisdiction to the courts,” Jaitley said replying to the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Finance and Appropriations Bills. The Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill were later approved by the upper house by voice vote. “Step by step, brick by brick the edifice of India’s legislature is being destroyed,” Jaitley said, referring to the Congress proposal to appoint a judge to settle disputes between the Centre and states on GST. “This is a political issue … you can’t hand over this power to the judiciary,” he added. On Tuesday, the upper house was in chaos over the Uttarakhand issue and the discussion was then postponed to Wednesday.