NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (The CONNECT) – Stating that he is “pained” that nearly 22 hours were lost due to avoidable disruptions, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar today came down heavily on the opposition for “weaponizing” disturbance as a political strategy.
“Weaponizing disruptions and disturbance as a political strategy doesn’t resonate with our constitutional obligation of keeping the interest of people at large above any other political considerations,” Dhankar, who is also the Vice President of India said wrapping up the Rajya Sabha’s 262nd session.
Aa a result, he said, the House’s productivity for the session finally stood at 79 percent.
The Upper House transacted business for 65 hours during the 14 sittings and addressed over 2,300 questions from treasury and the opposition benches. During the period over 4,300 papers were laid on the Table.
He noted that a total of 17 Bills including important path breaking bills related to Jammu & Kashmir, Appointment of Election Commissioners, the Post Office Bill, The Telecommunications Bill and the three Bills namely Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were passed during this session.
These three bills unshackled colonial legacy of criminal jurisprudence that was hurtful to the citizens of this country and favouring alien rulers, Dhankar said.
After the historic step of abolition of Article 370 and provision of one-third reservation for women in Parliament and State Legislatures, the House afforded the benefit of the same to the people of Jammu and Kashmir through the bills passed during the session.
The Post Office Bill revamped the old colonial structure to set up the stage for fulfilment of the aspirations of the people of the country. These Bills represented the spirit of “Panch Praan” that would lay a firm foundation for Bharat’s Amrit Kaal, he said.
During the course of the session, interns from various institutions from Andaman, Kerala, Rajasthan, Ladakh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had the benefit to observe the functioning of Rajya Sabha. It was a part of our effort to establish a link with younger generations of this country whose future invariably rests with our constitutional obligations inside this Chamber, he added.
