Early end to tumultuous Winter Session of Parliament

New Delhi: The Winter Session of Parliament came to an end with both Houses being adjourned sine die. The session was marked by a security breach, mass suspensions and the expulsion of Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that the productivity of the House was 74 per cent while in the Rajya Sabha, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said that the House’s productivity stood at 79 per cent.

On the last day of the session in the Lok Sabha, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi introduced a motion to suspend three more MPs – Congress leaders Deepak Baij, Nakul Nath and D K Suresh – taking the total number of suspensions to 98 MPs of the total Opposition strength of 142 MPs in the Lok Sabha. In all, 144 MPs have been suspended from the Opposition across both the Houses, marking a development that has no precedent in the past few decades.

The Rajya Sabha, on the other hand, saw the passage of the three criminal bills which will replace the Colonial-era criminal codes. To applaud the move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a series of posts on X, saying that the bills bring in a “new era” of laws centered on public service and welfare.

“These transformative Bills are a testament to India's commitment to reform. They bring our legal, policing, and investigative systems into the modern era with a focus on technology and forensic science. At the same time, these Bills come down heavily on organised crime, terrorism and such offences which strike at the root of our peaceful journey to progress,” Modi’s posts read.

Prior to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s valedictory address, PM Modi entered the House amid chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ from the treasury benches. Om Birla said that the session had 14 sittings, lasted 61 hours 50 minutes, and the productivity was 74 per cent. The session also saw the passage of 18 bills and the introduction of 12 bills, he said.

Among the important bills that saw passage in the Lok Sabha were Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill 2023, The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita 2023, The Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill 2023, The Central Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill 2023, and The Telecommunications Bill.

Birla said that 55 starred questions were answered orally during the session, 265 matters were taken up under Rule 377, and 182 Matters of Urgent Public Importance were raised. As many as 1,930 papers were laid on the Table of the House.

In his valedictory speech in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar said that the House transacted business for 65 hours during 14 sittings and addressed over 2,300 questions, and over 4,300 papers were laid on the table.

“I am pained to state that nearly 22 hours were lost due to avoidable disruptions adversely impacting our overall productivity finally stood at 79 per cent. Weaponising disruptions and disturbance as a political strategy doesn’t resonate with our constitutional obligation of keeping the interest of people at large above any other political considerations,” Dhankhar said.

Seventeen bills including important path breaking bills related to Jammu & Kashmir, Appointment of Election Commissioners, the Post Office Bill, the Telecommunications Bill and the three criminal Bills were passed in the Upper House during this session.