Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die, 4 bills passed

NEW DELHI |January 10, 2019:

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh on Wednesday adjourned the House sine die at the conclusion of its winter session during which four bills were passed, including a constitutional amendment Bill to give 10 per cent reservation for economically backward among the upper castes in jobs and higher education.

Singh said the House had 18 sittings during the session which began on December 11 and had discussion of over 27 hours while over 78 hours were lost due to continuous disruptions which he said was a "sad reflection on the functioning of the Upper House of Parliament".

"The session was characterised by regular and continuous disruptions which deprived members of the opportunity to discuss matters of urgent public importance and seek accountability of the executive through questions," Singh said.

He said out of the 285 starred questions, only 31 could be answered orally and the Question Hour could not be taken up on 13 days.

Singh said that five government bills were introduced and four were passed during the session, while four bills were withdrawn.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed before the adjournment after a division with 165 members voting in its favour and seven against after a discussion that lasted for over ten hours and 39 members participating, he said.

"The statutory resolution on the proclamation issued by the President under Article 356 of the Constitution in the state of Jammu and Kashmir was also discussed for over two and half hours with 15 members members participating. No private members' bill could be introduced or discussed. However the House was able to discuss two private members' resolutions," the Deputy Chairman said.

(IANS)