Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday, August 11, expressed pain that the House did not run smoothly during the Monsoon session, which began on July 19, 2021. Addressing the media after the House was adjourned sine die (for an indefinite period), he said members holding placards and raising slogans in the Well of Lok Sabha was not in accordance with its traditions. The Lok Sabha functioned only for 21 hours during the entire Monsoon session and its productivity was at 22%, Birla said.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Wednesday, bringing an end to the stormy Monsoon session which was scheduled to conclude on August 13. Opposition protests over the Pegasus snooping row, farm laws and other issues had continuously marred the proceedings since the start of the session on July 19. The opposition demanded whether or not the Union government purchased the Pegasus spyware from Israeli company NSO, with various opposition leaders agreeing to submit similar adjournment notices in a bid to get the Union government’s response on the matter. The meeting, chaired by Mallikarjun Kharge, was also attended by leaders of the Congress, DMK, NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD, SP, CPIM, CPI, NC, AAP, IUML, RSP, KCM and VCK.
The Question Hour witnessed disruptions on most of the days during this session, while the House managed to pass a raft of bills. This included the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021, that will allow states to make their own Other Backward Class lists. This was the first time since the Monsoon session began that the Parliament saw an orderly debate, as protests over the Pegasus issue were put aside to discuss the Bill.
The Lok Sabha Speaker also informed that the construction of the new Parliament building is expected to be completed before August 15 next year, to mark 75 years of India’s independence.