The blame game will continue between the Treasury benches and the Opposition over the complete washout of the Rajya Sabha proceeding during the Winter Session, but the fact remains that the Upper House passed as many as 11 bills. This seems a tall order because hardly a day passed when the Opposition did not stall the House over a range of issues while the Government managers looked for ways to carry out the legislative business.
While Parliamentary Affair Minister Venkaiah Naidu was the main troubleshooter of the Government in both reaching out to the Opposition and fending off its offensive in both Houses, his deputy Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi lived up to the expectation of the “battleground” Rajya Sabha.
Of course, Naidu is a veteran parliamentarian who has friends in all parties, but it is Naqvi whose performance will come as a relief for the Government that desperately needs more leaders who could play constructive role in the Rajya Sabha where the Opposition has a majority. His utility multiplies manifold because of his excellent relation with the media, which he has cultivated over the years as a spokesperson.
Naqvi was appointed Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the last reshuffle in November before which Prakash Javadekar was at the helms of affair. While pleading the Opposition on daily basis to let the House function and holding informal parleys with their leaders, Naqvi never lacked in showing his firmer side by mincing no words in slamming the obstructions created by the Opposition leaders.
While the lok Sabha recorded passage of 17 Bills with most working hours, the Rajya Sabha working almost the half the time contrary to the lower House still got 11 Bills cleared. Some of the Bills passed in the current Winter Session of the Rajya Sabha were the Appropriation (No.4) Bill, 2014; the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014; the labour laws (Exemption from furnishing returns and maintaining registers by certain establishments) Amendment Bill, 2014; the Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2014, The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 201; the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and The Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
Amidst the din, Naqvi also managed six Bills for withdrawal which includes the Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011, the Protection and Utilisation of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill, 2008, the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2000, the Delhi Hotels (Control of Accommodation) Repeal Bill, 2014, The Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and The Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
Bills related to facilitation of auction of coal blocks, enhancing FDI limit in the capital starved insurance sector and enabling extension of Delhi Special Provisions Act that expires by the end of this month could however not be taken.
The lok Sabha functioned for over 126 hours during the stipulated 20 sittings with a productivity of over 105 percent, the productivity of the Rajya Sabha remained only 68 percent and witnessed interruptions during 15 of the 19 sittings losing a total time of 44 hours 09 minutes.
While time lost on each day of such interruptions ranged from 45 minutes to 323 minutes (5 hours 23 minutes), Naqvi’s able floor management led the members of the Upper House working over-time on seven days making up 8 hours 46 minutes. The net loss of time on account of interruptions in the Rajya Sabha has been 35 hours 38 minutes. The Upper House passed 12 and 17 Bills respectively during this year’s Budget session and last year’s Winter Session.