The stormy Monsoon session of Parliament came to an end today, becoming a virtual washout and delaying legislations, including the crucial GST bill, which could not be passed because of continuous acrimony and disruptions.
During the entire four weeks of the session which began on July 21, the Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam of Madhya Pradesh dominated, resulting in paralysis of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The confrontation escalated when Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on August 3 suspended 25 of the 44 Congress members for five days for continously disrupting the House and displaying placards.
The Speaker's action made several opposition parties join hands with Congress and they collectively boycotted the Lower House of Parliament for five days to show solidarity with the suspended MPs.
Rajya Sabha was a complete washout while Lok Sabha managed to work during Question Hour amid din for a number of days and saw some legislative business in the absence of boycotting opposition parties.
The proceedings in both the Houses were drowned during the entire session in slogan-shouting by Congress members who were pressing for resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over Lalit Modi controversy and ouster of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over Vyapam scam.
As a result of paralysis in Parliament, most of the legislative work could not be conducted.
Among the major reform legislations which remained pending were the ambitious Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, which aims at overhauling the indirect taxation system in the country by ushering in a uniform regime.
The much-talked about Land Acquisition Bill too was put off till the next session despite much climbdown by the government on key provisions as the joint committee report could not be presented due to tussle between BJP and its detractors.
