Naidu-Azad rapport broke House logjam

The Lok Sabha held 13 sittings from April 25 to May 11, in which it passed 10 Bills, including Finance, Regional Centre for Biotechnology and Anti-Hijacking

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday commended Lok Sabha members for ensuring that the House was not adjourned even for a single minute due to interruptions - a first for the 16th Lok Sabha.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed several important Bills and the question hours in the Houses were largely undisturbed in this session despite the treasury benches and the principal Opposition, the Congress, trading blows on the AgustaWestland deal and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation controversies.

The Lok Sabha session was adjourned on Wednesday, two days before it was scheduled to end, while the Rajya Sabha would be adjourned sine die on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha passed as many as five Bills. These included the Finance Bill, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the Rajendra Central Agricultural University and the Indian Trusts (Amendment) Bills. The Lok Sabha also passed the Rajendra Central University Bill on the same day. According to a senior minister, a truce between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress was reached during a meeting between Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and his deputy Anand Sharma on April 27.

Naidu and Azad either met routinely or spoke over the phone to break the logjam in the Rajya Sabha where the government is in a minority. "We decided to take up businesses where there was consensus and avoid those where we couldn't reach any agreement," the minister said. This was one of the reasons for the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha not allocating any time for a discussion on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitution amendment Bill that is pending in the Rajya Sabha.

According to Mahajan, the Lok Sabha held 13 sittings from April 25 to May 11, which accounted for 92 hours and 21 minutes. It sat late for 14 hours and 32 minutes. It passed 10 Bills - including Finance, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Anti-Hijacking and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bills. Despite frequent disruptions and adjournments, the Rajya Sabha also passed key Bills, including the Bankruptcy Code and the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (Amendment) Bill.

The two Houses also saw several discussions, including on drought.