A lot of work has been done in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, but why is there no discussion on air pollution?

Parliament Winter Session: The 269th session of Rajya Sabha ended on Friday. Earlier, Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan told the House that the parliamentary functioning of the House was better in this session and the productivity of the House was 121 percent. He said that overall, the House worked for a total of about 92 hours and the productivity of this session was 121 percent. At the conclusion of the session, the Vice President and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha elaborately highlighted the proceedings, achievements and challenges of the House. On the other hand, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that we have reached the end of the sixth session of the 18th Lok Sabha. 15 meetings of the House were organized during this period. During this period, due to various legislative and other works, the productivity of this session was about 111 percent. However, air pollution could not be discussed. During Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s address, the members of the House cited tearing of copies of the bill in the House and said that this has spoiled the atmosphere. After this, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla concluded the winter session of the Lok Sabha.

Let us tell you that this was the first session of CP Radhakrishnan as the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He said that the House had decided to sit late for five days or work without the lunch break, so that legislative and other work could proceed smoothly. The number of notices given during zero hour in this session was unprecedented. On an average, 84 notices were received in the Rajya Sabha every day, which is 31 percent more than the last two sessions. On an average, more than 15 issues were raised every day during Zero Hour, which is about 50 percent more than the previous sessions. Apart from this, 58 Starred Questions, 208 Zero Hour Submissions, 87 Special Mentions were raised during the session. Important debates took place in the Rajya Sabha. These include discussion on 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’ and electoral reforms. A special discussion was held for two days on the 150th anniversary of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ in which 82 members participated. In the three-day debate on electoral reforms, 57 members presented their suggestions. Talking about legislative work, the House passed and returned 8 bills during the session. Statutory resolution related to Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024 was also passed. A total of 212 members participated in it.

Productivity of Lok Sabha 111 percent

The sixth session of the Lok Sabha was formally adjourned sine die on Friday. Before the end of the session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla addressed the House and expressed thanks for the achievements of this session, work culture and cooperation of the MPs. Om Birla said that we have reached the end of the sixth session of the 18th Lok Sabha. 15 meetings of the House were organized during this period. During this period, due to various legislative and other works, the productivity of this session was about 111 percent. He said, ‘Honourable members, we have now come to the end of the sixth session of the 18th Lok Sabha. We held 15 meetings in this session. With the cooperation of all of you, the productivity of the meeting in this session was almost 111 percent. I thank you for this. The Speaker further requested all the members to stand at their places in honor of the tune of ‘Vande Mataram’. After this, a formal announcement was made saying that the proceedings of the meeting are adjourned indefinitely.

What did the Parliamentary Affairs Minister say?

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, in a press conference after the conclusion of the winter session, described the session as very productive. He said that the bills passed in this session will play an important role in achieving the goal of ‘Developed India’. According to Rijiju, the government has taken concrete steps towards reforms and the Reform Express has now started, which is not going to stop. Rijiju said that under the reforms, Ji Ram Ji (GRAMJI) Bill has been passed, which is a revolutionary step. This bill has been brought specifically to stop the corruption and plunder prevalent in MNREGA. He also said that a big and important bill related to the insurance sector has also been passed in this session, which will improve the insurance sector and benefit the common people. Rijiju also appreciated the role of the opposition and said that the government thanks the opposition for participating in the discussion. However, he also said that an important issue like pollution could not be discussed in the House because the situation of uproar continued. Rijiju alleged that Congress leaders themselves refused to discuss pollution and instigated other parties too. He said that the government was fully ready to discuss this topic, but due to the stand of the opposition, the debate was not possible.

(Input: IANS)