90% of Budget Session-II lost to disruptions

The second leg of the Budget Session is among the worst in terms of productivity in the Parliament’s history. The session, which began on March 5, had 14 scheduled days of sitting till Thursday, but more than 90 per cent of its time was lost due to disruptions in both Houses. And both the Treasury and Opposition benches are to blame.

On Thursday, the Lok Sabha met for just 11 minutes. On Wednesday, the sitting time was just eight minutes, the lowest during this lap. On March 7 and March 19, the Lower House sat for nine minutes. On March 14, it met for 42 minutes, the longest session so far, according to Parliamentary Research group, PRS India.

Things were little different in the Rajya Sabha. In a deviation from its recent practice that no Bill will be passed amid din, the Elders passed the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill on Thursday sans discussion. Justifying the move, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said it was an important legislation for employees. He met leaders of various parties in the morning and it was apparently decided in the meeting that the Bill could be passed without discussion. The House sat for just 17 minutes on Thursday.

The most productive day of Rajya Sabha was March 8, International Women’s Day when many members spoke. The House met for an hour on the day. On March 12 and March 21, it sat for just six minutes while on 19 March it was just seven minutes.

Both the Houses are scheduled to meet six hours on a working day.

The Opposition parties have been alleging that the Centre is bypassing Parliament to bring legislations according to its whims and fancies. They cite the example of the manner in which the Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill — without discussion.

In the Bill, clauses 111-131, 133-205, and 217 were intended to amend various Acts. Acts such as the Government Savings Banks Act, the Reserve Bank of India Act, the President’s Emoluments and Pension Act, the Salaries and Allowances of Officers of Parliament Act, the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, the Central Boards of Revenue Act, the Governors (Emoluments, Allowances and Privileges) Act, the National Housing Bank Act, the Securities And Exchange Board of India Act, the Depositories Act, the Vice-President’s Pension Act, the Central Road Fund Act, the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, Finance Acts of 2004, 2013 and 2016, the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act were amended using the Finance Bill of 2018.

“This is unprecedented and unconstitutional. Clause 217 deals with the amendment to FCRI Act made in a similar manner using the Finance Act in 2016. It gives the FCRI Act, established in 2010, retrospective powers from 1976! This violates the basic Constitutional principles of legislation,” said RSP MP NK Premachandran.

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