The joint opposition denied the government celebratory cheer as they stalled the triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha. With the winter session of the parliament ending on Friday, the legislation can only be taken up during the Budget session, starting later this month. The bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.
The just-concluded session was convened with many delays as the government wanted to focus on the Gujarat elections, claiming most the parliamentarians will be busy there. The session was marked by a few protests by the opposition members as they demanded apologies from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his statement on former PM Manmohan Singh during campaign in Gujarat elections and from newly-appointed minister Anant Kumar Hegde for his controversial remarks on changing the constitution. For letting the house function, Hegde apologised for his comments, while finance minister explained inside the house that there was no intention to question the integrity of Manmohan Singh.
The winter session, commenced on 15 December, had 13 sittings spread over a period of 22 days. Overall, the productivity of Lok Sabha was 91.58 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha 56.29 per cent.
During the Session, 14 bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha. The lower house passed 13 bills while Rajya Sabha passed 9 bills during the session. In all, 13 bills were passed by both the houses of Parliament.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar termed the winter session a successful one in terms of the legislative business conducted and wide participation of all political parties in discussions on various issues.
Referring to the triple talaq bill, the minister said the government was committed to pass important bills like triple talaq Bbill and National Commission for Backward Classes Bill and cooperation from all parties is expected on such issues of national importance.
The opposition, led by the Congress, though helped in passing the triple talaq bill in the Lok Sabha, stalled it in the Rajya Sabha saying the legislation needed larger parliamentary scrutiny and should be referred to the select committee of the Rajya Sabha. However, the government refused to give in to their demand as it accused the Congress of double standards. Despite discussions between the government and the opposition, both stuck to their respective stands. The government refused to give in to the opposition demand of referring it to the select committee, instead appeared to let the bill hang till another session while it works on other opposition parties and allies to get them on board.
The minister announced that the Budget session of Parliament would commence from January 29.
Among the bills passed were the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Bill, the Indian Institute of Management Bill, 2017, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Bill.
In the Lok Sabha, a short duration discussion was held on natural calamities in various parts of the country with special reference to cyclone Ockhi in South India. While, in the upper house, two short duration discussions were held on high levels of air pollution in Delhi, state of economy, investment climate and job creation in the country and the need to address the challenge of rising unemployment.
In terms of optics, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made an emotional appeal over the “humiliation” meted out to the parents of Indian national in Pakistan custody, Kulbhushan Jadhav.
The current session was also the first session of Rahul Gandhi as the new Congress president, and Venkaiah Naidu as new Rajya Sabha chairman.
But politically, all eyes will be on the Budget session as its going to be Modi government's last budget before the 2019 polls. This longer session may also see the opposition and the government sparring again over issues related to violence against dalits.
