Parliament adjourns sine die: productivity of LS just 58%; RS 40.3%

New Delhi: The Parliament adjourned sine die on Friday as the day was the last of its Winter session, after strong debates on the country's constitutional journey and introduction of bills for simultaneous elections. The Session ended after another scuffle and related incidents over the alleged insult to Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution.

The last day in Lok Sabha only spanned three minutes before Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House without the customary summing up of the Session's highlights.

The Lok Sabha's productivity was nearly 58 per cent, according to its secretariat, a far cry from days when it hovered around 100 per cent and even beyond.

In his concluding remarks, Dhankhar called upon parties to rise above political differences and restore the sanctity of parliamentary discourse, striking a note of balance amid the opposition's charge that he has often been partisan.

He said that the Rajya Sabha effectively functioned for just 43 hours and 27 minutes with a productivity of merely 40.03 per cent during the Winter Session that began on November 25.

At a press conference, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju laid the blame on the door of the opposition, especially the Congress, claiming their continuous protest despite an earlier agreement to allow Parliament to run was the principal reason behind the low productivity.

During the Session, five bills were introduced in Lok Sabha, four of which passed. The Rajya Sabha passed three bills. A special session was also held in the 'Samvidhan Sadan' to commemorate the Constitution Day on November 26.

Meanwhile, at least 60 opposition members had signed a notice on December 10 for the removal of Dhankhar from his post, alleging he was "biased" and they did not have trust in him.