New Delhi: The Winter Session of Rajya Sabha, which lost over 47 hours due to disruptions, was on Wednesday adjourned sine die as an upset Chairman Hamid Ansari lamented that the record of this session belied the commitment to the principles of the Constitution "in good measure". He appealed to the members "to introspect on this state of affairs (and) desist from approaches and practices that demean the stature of the Rajya Sabha".
"The 237th Session of the Rajya Sabha, that last week seemed singularly unproductive in terms of legislative work, comes to an end this afternoon after having redeemed itself somewhat in the past three days," said Ansari in his valedictory remarks before the House was adjourned sine die. He recalled that three weeks back on December 1, the Rajya Sabha had solemnly committed itself to the principles and ideals of the Constitution.
"A functioning legislature is an essential concomitant of these principles; disruptions amount to their negation. The record of this session belies this commitment in good measure," he said. The interruptions in the functioning of the House, he said sought to be "justified by specious logic by different sections of the House at different times to suit their tactics of the moment", continue to result in loss of working time and neglect of listed business.
In 20 sittings from November 26 till Wednesday, nine Bills, including the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, were passed. Ansari said interruptions denied members the opportunity to seek accountability of the executive through questions, 'Zero Hour' issues, discussions and debates on issues of public interest and concern.
The disruptions also reduced or eliminated opportunity to scrutinise legislative proposals. "This state of affairs is at times attributed by sections of opinion to lack of disciplinary control over the proceedings," he said.
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