NEW DELHI: As the deadlock over the Pegasus controversy continues in Parliament, the two Houses are heading towards a less productive zone in terms of business with more than 85% of working hours being wasted in the first two weeks of the session.
Of the possible 107 hours in the past two weeks, Parliament has functioned merely for 18 hours, wasting 89 hours because of ongoing disruptions due to the deadlock over the opposition demand for a discussion and inquiry into the Pegasus affair.
According to government sources, more than Rs 133 crore have been wasted so far in the process with not much signs of a breakthrough as the Opposition remains firm on a debate on a subject which the government considers a “non-issue”. Since the Monsoon session commenced on July 19, Lok Sabha has functioned for about seven hours of possible 54. Rajya Sabha has functioned for 11 hours out of a possible 53.
The opposition parties have made it clear that they will allow uninterrupted proceedings only if the government concedes to its demand of holding debate on the Pegasus controversy. However, the government has maintained that debate on issues like the Covid-19 crisis are more important and that Pegasus controversy is “hypothetical” and a “non-issue”.
Parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi had also said that opposition parties could seek more details on the Pegasus controversy from IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Lok Sabha has passed five bills so far and the total time spent on discussing these bills was only 44 minutes. Rajya Sabha has so far passed three bills in this session and the total time spent was little over an hour.
Unlike the ongoing impasse, the Budget session this year had witnessed record productivity even as initial few days were affected by disruptions. Lok Sabha’s productivity was 110%, while it was 90% for Rajya Sabha.
Of the possible 107 hours in the past two weeks, Parliament has functioned merely for 18 hours, wasting 89 hours because of ongoing disruptions due to the deadlock over the opposition demand for a discussion and inquiry into the Pegasus affair.
According to government sources, more than Rs 133 crore have been wasted so far in the process with not much signs of a breakthrough as the Opposition remains firm on a debate on a subject which the government considers a “non-issue”. Since the Monsoon session commenced on July 19, Lok Sabha has functioned for about seven hours of possible 54. Rajya Sabha has functioned for 11 hours out of a possible 53.
The opposition parties have made it clear that they will allow uninterrupted proceedings only if the government concedes to its demand of holding debate on the Pegasus controversy. However, the government has maintained that debate on issues like the Covid-19 crisis are more important and that Pegasus controversy is “hypothetical” and a “non-issue”.
Parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi had also said that opposition parties could seek more details on the Pegasus controversy from IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Lok Sabha has passed five bills so far and the total time spent on discussing these bills was only 44 minutes. Rajya Sabha has so far passed three bills in this session and the total time spent was little over an hour.
Unlike the ongoing impasse, the Budget session this year had witnessed record productivity even as initial few days were affected by disruptions. Lok Sabha’s productivity was 110%, while it was 90% for Rajya Sabha.
