Monsoon Session: Will history repeat itself or will it be a new beginning in Parliament?

The monsoon session has commenced in the Parliament today (18 July). In the wake of many pressing issues concerning the citizens, around 68 bills are expected to be taken up for fruitful discussions and a total of 25 bills might be passed. However, the history of sessions begs to differ.

Frequent disruptions during discussions have become a way of conduct for the political parties. A report suggests that out of 14 sessions of current and the 16th Lok Sabha, more than 400 productive hours have seen endless arguments and protests with absolutely no outcome.

The budget session of 2018 was one of the most unsuccessful sessions in the recent past where over 127 hours were wasted with only 1% of it dedicated to legislative business and 14 minutes on crucial government bills.

The situation in the Upper House - Rajya Sabha is no better. It also witnessed a total loss of over 121 hours with only 6% dedicated to legislative business and merely three minutes of it to important bills. This happened when pivotal bills and ordinances such as PNB fraud, Cauvery bill and others were waiting for the House's approval.

It is highly unfortunate that politicians still do not learn from their mistakes and continue to hamper the development by not passing important bills. This has brought us back to the same question again - will it be fruitful or will be a washout again?