Parliament clocks best ever performance

Om Birla, the newly elected Speaker of the Lower House, declared on Tuesday while wrapping the first session of the current Lok Sabha that “the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha was very memorable”. The overall productivity of the session stood at 125 per cent with the support of all honourable members, and after 1952, the House's value has increased by passing the highest number of Bills at 36, the Speaker added. He was not exaggerating in any sense.

This session, from June 17 till August 6, 2019 (The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Tuesday), clubbed the Presidential address and oath-taking of new members with the presentation of the Annual Budget 2019, and is going to be remembered as one of the most historic since India got Independence.

Other than being the most productive, this session is going to be unforgettable in history for passing some highly contentious Bills, such as the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir. The BJP had always held that the controversial clause was responsible for the bloody and messy state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir for over 70 years.

While the Opposition raised a high-decibel hue and cry over the rush that the Modi government was showing in passing Bills such as the triple talaq Bill, Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were unstoppable, trying to fulfil the poll promises they had made during the general elections 2019.

The Modi-Shah speed, degree of determination, deft handling of a very complex historic problem, floor management in Rajya Sabha, and willingness to answer every question from the Opposition, took not only the Opposition, but the entire nation by surprise. 

Leaving aside the historic Parliamentary decision on J&K, the numbers from the two Houses look highly impressive. The claims of this record performance has been authenticated by the study of PRS Legislative Research, an independent agency that tracks, monitors, and researches on Indian legislature and legislative matters. 

The session that was to end on June 26 was extended till August 7 (however, the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on August 6), recording the highest number of working hours in the Lok Sabha in the past 20 years, passing 36 Bills, a record in the last 60 years.

Lok Sabha worked for 281 hours which is 135 per cent of the scheduled hours.  On an average, Lok Sabha has worked for 81 per cent of its scheduled time in the past 20 years, as per the PRS Research.

Even the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP doesn’t command a clear majority, worked for 195 hours which is 100 per cent of the scheduled hours. On an average, the Rajya Sabha has worked for 76 per cent of its scheduled time in 20 years.

As all expenditures of the government can only be made with the prior sanction of Parliament, an important agenda of the Budget session was to discuss and pass the annual Budget. The Lok Sabha spent 20 per cent of its time on financial business. 

Making yet another record as the highest number of Bills passed in any session over the past 10 years, of the 38 Bills (excluding the Finance and Appropriation Bills), that were introduced in Parliament during this session, 28 were passed during this session. 

The second-highest was during the Winter Session 2009 and the Monsoon Session 2018, where a total of 10 Bills were introduced and passed during the same session.

Going into details, at the commencement of the Budget Session, 33 Bills were pending in the Rajya Sabha. None of these Bills were discussed during this session.

For a Bill to become an Act, it has to pass through various stages, which include circulation, introduction, second reading, clause-by-clause discussion and final voting. A Bill may also be referred to a Standing or Select Committee for scrutiny after introduction.

None of the Bills introduced in this session were referred to a Committee. Of 28 Bills passed by Parliament, five Bills had been scrutinised by Committees in some form during the period of the previous Lok Sabha.

During the Budget session, 25 Bills (66 per cent) were discussed within five working days from their introduction. Two Bills in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha were introduced, discussed, and passed on the same day.

On an average, a Bill was discussed for 3.6 hours in the Lok Sabha and 3.3 hours in the Rajya Sabha.

Also, the Central government tabled a Presidential Order that superseded the Constitution (Application to J&K) Order, 1954 in Rajya Sabha.  A resolution was passed which modifies Article 370 to state that all provisions of the Constitution of India will apply to Jammu and Kashmir.  

This was followed by the introduction and passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 which reorganises the State into two Union Territories.

Seven Bills in the Lok Sabha and seven Bills in the Rajya Sabha had recorded vote at some stage. Bills and motions are usually passed through voice vote. Only if an MP demands a ‘division’, the vote of each MP is recorded and reported. For Constitutional Amendment Bills, the division is mandatory in order to ascertain the special majority.

During this session, the Lok Sabha passed 33 Bills (excluding Finance and Appropriation Bills), out of which, in seven cases, division was recorded (21 per cent) at some point during the discussion. This is higher than the 16th Lok Sabha, in which, a division was called for in eight per cent of the Bills.

Even the participation in the Parliamentary process by the members were impressive, with an average 315 MPs participating in a division in Lok Sabha, which is 58 per cent MPs were present in the house for the vote. The corresponding figure for Rajya Sabha was 168 MPs, that is 73 per cent.

The Bill provides for reorganisation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh

The Bill increases the number of judges in the Supreme Court from 31 to 34

The Consumer Protection Bill Defines the rights of consumers, provides a grievance redressal mechanism for the violation of their rights, and sets up a regulator to protect their interests

Specifies the procedure for summary eviction of unauthorised occupants from government accommodation

Provides for policies on road transport and safety, compensation for road accident victims, and changes to the licensing and registration processes, among others

Constitutes the National Medical Commission in place of the Medical Council of India to regulate medical education and practice

Consolidates the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Payment of Wages Act, 1936, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 under one law

Repeals 58 Acts, which include 46 principal Acts and 12 Amendment Acts

Amends the existing Act with respect to investigation and prosecution of offences relating to terrorism

Increases the threshold for classifying major airports and lays down the process by which tariffs will be set for an airport, in certain cases

Limits time period for completing insolvency resolution process, and specifies minimum payouts to operational creditors

Provides for stringent punishment for committing sexual offences against children

Amends the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to create an autonomous council called the Arbitration Council of India

Re-categorises certain compoundable offences as civil defaults and transfers some approval powers from NCLT to the Central government

Makes all declaration of instant triple talaq, including in written or electronic form, to be void and illegal

Provides for a mechanism to ban unregulated deposit schemes and protects the interests of depositors

Amends the term, salaries, and conditions of service of RTI Commissioners (at the Centre and the State)

Amends the existing Act with respect to jurisdiction and offences that can be investigated by NIA, and constitution of Special Courts

Amends the composition, the term of office of Chairperson and members of the Human Rights Commission, and entrusts all administrative and financial powers to the Secretary General

Establishes an autonomous and independent centre for better management of arbitration in India and declares the centre as an institution of national importance

Establishes a new Central University and Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh

Removes the representation of a certain category of dentists in Dental Councils set up under the Dentists Act, 1948

Introduces offline verification of Aadhaar.  An individual may voluntarily use their Aadhaar number to establish identity for telecom and bank related KYC

Supersedes the Medical Council of India and requires it to be reconstituted within a period of 2 years

Provides for reservation of teaching positions in central educational institutions for persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, socially and educationally backward classes, and economically weaker sections

Amends the Act to increase the time period for supersession of the Central Council from one year to two years

Includes persons residing in areas adjoining the international border within the ambit of reservation at par with persons living in areas adjoining the actual Line of Control

Amends the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 to add two more categories to the definition of a ‘person’

Gives effect to the financial proposals of the Central government for the financial year 2019-2020

Authorises expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India