Parliament Monsoon Session: 12 bills passed but productivity hit by disruptions, says Kiren Rijiju

The Monsoon Session of Parliament which concluded on Thursday was successful in terms of legislative business but remained unsatisfactory in terms of productivity Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju saidAddressing the media after both Houses were adjourned sine die Rijiju said the session should be assessed from two perspectives legislative business and debate and discussion news agency IANS reported12 bills passed during Monsoon SessionldquoIn terms of business it was a very successful session we passed a total of 12 bills However from the perspective of debate and discussion it was not as successfulrdquo Rijiju saidHowever he pointed out that the Lok Sabha recorded only 19 per cent productivity in relation to the total allotted time while productivity in the Rajya Sabha stood at 39 per centAccording to Rijiju Opposition parties were responsible for repeated disruptions and walkouts in the Upper HousePublic Examinations Bill debated in Lok SabhaThe Lower House saw debate on only one Bill concerning paper leaks and their prevention Rijiju saidThe Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act was passed by both Houses following deliberations and discussions he addedThe passage of key legislation with limited debate has raised concerns among political observers and constitutional experts with some MPs also questioning the lack of detailed discussionRijiju blames Opposition for disruptionsRijiju held the Opposition responsible for the disruptions and alleged that its actions repeatedly stalled proceedings in both HousesAdmitting that the Monsoon Session did not live up to the expectations of the citizens he accused the Opposition of running away from debate and said its conduct had resulted in repeated adjournmentsldquoThis is the first time I have seen the Opposition shying away from debate In a democracy they seek answers from the government and the government is bound to provide them Yet we witnessed a scenario where the government itself was forthcoming on discussion but the Opposition kept making excuses to avoid it This is not healthy for parliamentary democracyrdquo he saidMinister criticises Congress MPsRijiju further criticised the Congress for what he described as disruptive behaviour saying he felt sorry for the partys MPs particularly newcomers who according to him were unable to get an opportunity to speak because of the disruptionsHe alleged that Congress MPs had been reduced to raising slogans waving placards and creating a ruckus instead of participating in parliamentary debatesRijiju said the government and ministers concerned had offered to respond to issues raised by the Opposition but alleged that Opposition MPs neither participated in debates nor listened to the ministerial repliesHe expressed hope that the Opposition would change its approach when Parliament reconvenes for the Winter SessionWith IANS inputs