The numbers are stark. According to a research done by PRS on the winter session, till Monday, the Lok Sabha had worked at 100 per cent, while the Rajya Sabha's productivity was 47 per cent. While the Lok Sabha had worked 89 hours, the Rajya Sabha had worked only 44.7 hours. While 47 per cent of the Lok Sabha's business was non-legislative, in the Rajya Sabha, 69 per cent of the business was non-legislative. In the Rajya Sabha, questions took five per cent of the time, while in the Lok Sabha 14 per cent of the time was spent on questions. The Rajya Sabha spent two hours on questions. The Lok Sabha spent 12.1 hours.
Hopefully, in the remaining few days of the winter session that ends on Wednesday, some work will be put in.
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Defence deals on Modi's radar during Russia visit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes to Russia for a state visit from Wednesday to Friday. Ahead of his visit, the government has already announced that not only will it expand the nuclear programme with that country but also sign many defence deals. Among these is the purchase of the S-400 missile systems, according to defence ministry sources. India will buy five units of the missile system for around Rs 40,000 crore.
Sources said negotiations for the deal would be done during the visit, and a preliminary agreement is expected. The deal, under the buy-global category, is expected to be a government-to-government one. The S-400 is an anti-aircraft weapon system which uses three different missiles to cover its entire performance envelope. It is designed to knock down flying targets, including those equipped with stealth technologies, at a distance of about 400 km.
Initially, India had plans to buy 12 of the S-400s, but then the number was scaled down. These missiles will be enough to secure an area roughly the size of the Delhi, said an official.
MPs move to impeach Gujarat HC judge
How the Upper House will handle this hot potato is not known: 58 Rajya Sabha MPs have given a notice for impeachment of Gujarat High Court J P Pardiwala for his alleged anti-reservation remarks.
Signatures of at least 50 members are required for moving such a motion.
On Friday, members of Parliament's Standing Committee on SC/ST at a meeting in Parliament House had condemned the remarks and resolved to stage a protest in front of BR Ambedkar's statue on December 23.
Pardiwala, while declining to drop the charge of sedition against Patel quota stir leader Hardik Patel, had recently said, "If I am asked by anyone to name two things which have destroyed this country or rather has not allowed the country to progress in the right direction, then the same is reservation and corruption."
The problem is the motion can neither be endorsed nor ignored by any political party for obvious reasons. On the other hand, the impeachment of a judge is both complex and controversial. With barely two days left for the winter session to end, the MPs' notice will have to accepted by the House in the days left for the session.