The Lok Sabha adjourned sine die on Wednesday in what is being termed one of the shortest sessions in India’s parliamentary history, but which was packed with 25 Bills, an Opposition boycott, and the extraordinary situation of Lok Sabha MPs sitting in both Houses of Parliament to enforce COVID-19 social distancing rules.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla allowed a longer than usual Zero Hour for many MPs who may not have had the chance to speak in the session to raise their issues, prompting Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi to name him the “Hero of Zero Hour”. There was a noticeable absence of the Opposition, which has boycotted proceedings since Tuesday over the farm Bills that the Modi government had pushed through Parliament.
Mr. Birla, however, took some pride in enumerating the productivity figures for this very short but extraordinary session. Lok Sabha productivity clocked at 167% with 25 Bills passed; 2,300 unstarred questions answered; 68% of the sittings dealing with legislative work; and 370 Zero Hour mentions.
The Speaker thanked the MPs who followed the COVID-19 protocol devised by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, and the staff and workers of Parliament House. While the House was originally scheduled to run till October 1, and through weekends as well, after Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Prahlad Patel and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe tested positive for COVID-19, the session was shortened by eight days. As goodbyes were said, the House rose, never more uncertain than now as to when it would meet again.
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