The Rajya Sabha was adjourned indefinitely today, a day ahead of schedule, signaling the end of Parliament’s Winter Session. The Lok Sabha’s session came to a conclusion at the same time.

Despite the Opposition’s continued protests, both Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla decided to call the session to a close.

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Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the House indefinitely shortly after presenting the scheduled papers and reports. Following the suspension of 12 opposition party members for “unruly” behaviour during the previous session in August, the Upper House saw multiple disturbances during the current session.

“The Rajya Sabha functioned much below its potential,” Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said. “I urge you to introspect and reflect how this session could have been different and better. I don’t want to speak elaborately on the course of the session that would lead me to make a very critical view,” Mr Naidu added during his address to MPs.

The Chairman emphasised the importance of adhering to the House’s rules, regulations, and processes, as well as precedents, decency, and decorum.

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He also called on members for “realisation of what has happened is wrong” and said that “we should all work towards a constructive and positive atmosphere for the larger interest of the country”.

The Opposition continued to demonstrate in the Rajya Sabha over the suspension of 12 MPs and the demand to remove the junior Home Minister as a result of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Protests erupted during the session over the haste with which laws were enacted, particularly the crucial electoral reforms bill, which seeks to link the voter ID card to the Aadhaar card.

The Farm Laws Repeal Bill and the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill were both passed during the Winter Session, which had 18 sittings.

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The Lok Sabha session was disrupted for 18 hours and 48 minutes by opposition members over a variety of topics, including price hikes and the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha Om Birla, on the other hand, noted that the lower house’s productivity reached a new high of 204 percent on December 2.

The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, and legislations to fix the tenure of directors of the Enforcement Directorate and CBI at five years, as well as supplemental demands for funding, were all passed in the Lok Sabha.

During the session, the government introduced 12 bills, including the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, which aims to raise the marriageable age for girls from 18 to 21 years.

During the Session, which lasted 83 hours and 12 minutes, the Lok Sabha held 18 sittings. COVID-19 and climate change were the topics of debate at the session, which lasted 12 hours 26 minutes and 6 hours 26 minutes, respectively. While 99 members took part in the pandemic debate, 61 members took part in the inconclusive climate change debate.

“The overall productivity of the Lok Sabha was 82 per cent,” Mr Birla said.

On the final day of the Winter Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were among those present in the House.

Parliament’s Winter Session began on November 29 and was slated to end on December 23.