Background:
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Monsoon session of Parliament ended abruptly, and before its scheduled date.
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This is the 4th straight session that ended ahead of its original schedule, other than the cancelled winter 2020 session.
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This led to non-discussion of various important issues like Chinese incursion into Ladakh, Farmers issue, Covid-19 response and strategy, Pegasus controversy etc
Facts about Functioning of Parliament in recent times:
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Frequent disruption of both of the houses also affects its working timing. LS (Lok Sabha) works for just 19% of its scheduled time while RS (Rajya Sabha) for 26%
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Out of 20 bills, 18 bills were passed without any discussion in LS apart from 1 bill on Schedule Tribes (Order) Amendment bill, which saw discussion of 15 minutes
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Most of the bills were passed without any scrutiny as they were passed in the same session in which it was introduced.
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During the 15th LS, 18% of bills were passed in the same session. In 16th LS, the count rose to 33% & is at 70% halfway through the current Parliament
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Also, there was no discussion in LS on any policy issue. In RS, only one discussion was seen related to the management of COVID.
Scrutiny of the bills
A sharp downward trend can be seen in referring the bill to Parliamentary committees. From 71% in 15th LS to 27% in 16th and 12% in the present one. In the current session, none of the 15 bills introduced were referred to any Parliamentary committee.