Skip to main content

Time lost during 16th Lok Sabha lower than most previous sessions since 1991: Data

 
Amidst major hue and cry around “time lost” during the recently-ended Parliament session, with accusations flying high that the tax-payers’ money is being “wasted”, data of Lok Sabha sittings suggest that the last session when the BJP was in opposition saw the highest per cent of time lost since 1991.
The data also show that till the end of the current monsoon of the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-19), only 8.77 per cent of the time was actually lost due to interruptions and adjournments, but in sharp contrast, a whopping 39.88 per cent of the time was lost due to interruptions and adjournments during the last 15th Lok Sabha (2009-14), when the the UPA-2 ruled, with scandals flying high.
In fact, the time lost during the 16th Lok Sabha considerably less than all previous sessions since 1991, except for the 11th Lok Sabha (1996-98), when it was a meager 5.28 per cent of the total hours for which the session met. Ironically, the BJP was in opposition during the 11th Lok Sabha.
The actual figures further reveal that the current Lok Sabha has so far sat for 610.7 hours, while the time lost was 58.7 hours. During the previous session, the Lok Sabha sat for 1,344.6 hours, while the time lost was 891.9 hours, thanks to the disruptions caused by the BJP.
The previous Lok Sabha sessions’ figures are as follows: During the 10th Lok Sabha (1991-96), the time lost was 9.95 per cent. It sat for 2,257 hours, but the time lost was 279.4 hours. At that time, the Congress was in power, while the BJP was in the opposition.
In the 11th Lok Sabha (1996-98), when the United Front was in power and the BJP was in Opposition, the actual time for which the House sat was 813.6 hours, while the time lost was 45.3 hours (5.28 per cent). In the following 12th Lok Sabha (1998-99), when the BJP returned to power, the House sat for 574.9 hours, while the time lost was 68.6 hours (10.66 per cent).
Then, during the 13th Lok Sabha (1999-2004), when the BJP again regained power under AB Vajpayee, the House sat for 1,945.7 hours, and the time lost was 454.6 hours. This was 18.94 per cent of the total time for which the House met. And during the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-09), when the Congress-led UPA government came back to power, the House sat for 1736.9 hours, while the time lost was 423 hours (19.58 per cent).
Analyzing the data on the basis figures made available by the Parliament Secretariat,, an online portal comments, “The recently concluded monsoon session of the Parliament was unique for one reason. Members of both the ruling dispensation and the Opposition came onto the roads to protest against one another.”
Though the hours lost due to disruptions and adjournments was considerably less in the current Lok Sabha than the previous ones, the the BJP is guilty of losing highest percentage of time during the previous Lok Sabha, the portal says, “While the BJP accused the Congress of being an obstructionist party, data compiled by the Lok Sabha Secretariat suggests that both the parties are equally guilty of disrupting the proceedings of the house when they were in the Opposition.”

Comments

TRENDING

From McKinsey to PwC: Two decades ago, same warning on GIFT City’s fragile foundations

This blog continues  my story , “A revdi-funded dream? Tax breaks, hype, unease: PwC reveals GIFT City’s fragile foundations.”  Ironic though it may seem, what PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) recently observed about the lack of a talent pool in Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s dream project, the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), had already been predicted by another global consultant — McKinsey & Company — not days or months ago, but more than two decades earlier in what was then described as a feasibility study.

Disappearing schools: India's education landscape undergoing massive changes

   The other day, I received a message from education rights activist Mitra Ranjan, who claims that a whopping one lakh schools across India have been closed down or merged. This seemed unbelievable at first sight. The message from the activist, who is from the advocacy group Right to Education (RTE) Forum, states that this is happening as part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which floated the idea of school integration/consolidation.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.  I don't know who owns this site, for there is nothing on it in the About Us link. It merely says, the Nashik Corporation  site   "is an educational and news website of the municipal corporation. Today, education and payment of tax are completely online." It goes on to add, "So we provide some of the latest information about Property Tax, Water Tax, Marriage Certificate, Caste Certificate, etc. So all taxpayer can get all information of their municipal in a single place.some facts about legal and financial issues that different city corporations face, but I was least interested in them."  Surely, this didn't interest...

'Shameful lies': Ambedkar defamed, Godse glorified? Dalit leader vows legal battle

A few days back, I was a little surprised to receive a Hindi article in plain text format from veteran Gujarat Dalit rights leader Valjibhai Patel , known for waging many legal battles under the banner of the Council of Social Justice (CSJ) on behalf of socially oppressed communities.

India’s expanding coal-to-chemical push raises concerns amidst global exit call

  As the world prepares for  COP30  in  Belém , a new global report has raised serious alarms about the continued expansion of coal-based industries, particularly in India and China. The 2025  Global Coal Exit List  (GCEL), released by Germany-based NGO  Urgewald  and 48 partners, reveals a worrying rise in  coal-to-chemical projects  and  captive power plants  despite mounting evidence of climate risks and tightening international finance restrictions.

Varnashram Dharma: How Gandhi's views evolved, moved closer to Ambedkar's

  My interaction with critics and supporters of Mahatma Gandhi, ranging from those who consider themselves diehard Gandhians to Left-wing and Dalit intellectuals, has revealed that in the long arc of his public life, few issues expose his philosophical tensions more than his shifting stance on Varnashram Dharma—the ancient Hindu concept that society should be divided into four varnas, or classes, based on duties and aptitudes.

Grey memories, silent youth: What Ahmedabad Emergency anniversary meet revealed

  Recently, I attended what I would call a veterans’ meet — a gathering to recall the  Emergency  imposed by  Indira Gandhi , whose resistance is said to have begun in  Ahmedabad  on  October 12, 1975 . At that time,  Gujarat  was one of the two states described as an “island of freedom.” It was ruled by  Janata Morcha  chief minister  Babubhai Jashbhai Patel . The other such “island” was  Tamil Nadu .

From Gujarat to Gaza: Tracing India’s growing complicity in Israel’s war economy

I have been forwarded a report titled “Profit and Genocide: Indian Investments in Israel”. It has been prepared by the advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) and authored by Hajira Puthige. The report was released following the Government of India’s signing of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Israel.

Rs 2 treatment for cancer? Treat with utter caution, especially many times forwards on WhatsApp

The other day when I received a WhatsApp forward (it said "forwarded many times"), I got terribly worked up, even though I shouldn't have done it. I generally don't like such forwards as these seek to spread rumours. In fact, shouting out, I said, "Another nonsense from WhatsApp University... Why forward such unverified things?"