Do not make the Rajya Sabha a "clog in the wheel" of progress, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu today cautioned MPs before adjourning the proceedings of the Budget Session sine die, as the House lost nearly three- fourths of its time to disruptions and adjournments.
During the second leg of the session which commenced on January 29, had 30 sittings in all. While it sat for 44 hours, the Upper House lost over 121 hours.
Of the 419 starred questions listed, only five were replied to orally by the concerned ministers in the House. The Question Hour could not be taken up for 27 days "due to pandemonium and interruptions in the House over one or the other issue", Naidu said.
The disruptions and adjournments were caused by protests over issues like special status to Andhra Pradesh, bank scams, demand for Cauvery water management board, vandalising of statues, review of the recent Supreme Court order on SC/ST Act and law and order situation in Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh,.
The proceedings were literally washed out in the post- recess session which started on March 5.
"I am pained to note that it turned out to be an eminently forgettable one on account of utter disregard of the mandate of this important parliamentary institution and its responsibilities and missed opportunities," Naidu said in his concluding address to the 245th session of Rajya Sabha.
He noted that there was a "total breakdown" in communication among various sections of the House that was "at the root of the prolonged stalemate that ruined the session."