Blaming the Opposition over suspension of MPs from both Houses of Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Friday that they (the MPs) themselves “sought” their suspension.

Briefing newspersons on the Winter Session of Parliament which concluded on Thursday night, he said, “They themselves came and said to suspend them. Congress Party has such a low-level strategy.”

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The productivity of Lok Sabha was approximately 74 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha was approximately 79 per cent.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, who was also present at the press briefing, lashed out at the Opposition saying they were looking for revenge after the defeat in the assembly elections.

“The Speaker is the custodian of Parliament. The Lok Sabha Speaker is saying repeatedly that he is responsible for the security. Why are they not trusting what the Speaker is saying? They were deliberately looking for revenge after the defeat in the assembly elections. They had been planning internally and they got the opportunity,” Mr Meghwal said.

He said, “Security breach in Parliament is a big issue. A committee has been formed and an investigation is underway. The vice-president was insulted. Congress believes that it is their right to govern.”

“They think that the vice-president should be the one nominated by them. They cannot stand Prime Minister Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. It is their mentality to insult the Dalit, farmers and the backward classes,” he said.

The Winter Session of Parliament, which commenced on December 4, was adjourned sine die on December 21. The Session provided 14 sittings spread over a period of 18 days.

During the Session, 12 Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha and 18 passed, while in the Rajya Sabha, 17 Bills were passed. Three Bills were withdrawn with the leave of Lok Sabha, while one Bill was withdrawn with the leave of Rajya Sabha. The total number of Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament during the session was 19.

The first Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2023-24 and Demands for Excess Grants for 2020-21 were discussed and voted in full and the related Appropriation Bills were introduced, discussed and passed by the Lok Sabha on December 12, after a debate of about five hours 40 minutes. The Rajya Sabha returned these Bills on December 19, after a debate of about 22 minutes.

Three landmark Bills relating to the criminal justice system to ensure victim-centric justice, namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, replacing the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively were passed by both the Houses.

Some of the major Bills passed by both Houses during the Session included the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which seeks to repeal the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 and incorporates provisions of Section 36 of the Legal Practitioners Act 1879 in the Advocates Act, 1961.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sought change in nomenclature of ‘weak and under-privileged classes (social castes) to ‘Other Backward Classes’ in the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sought to provide nomination of not more than two members, one of whom will be a woman from the community of Kashmiri Migrants and one member from Displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023 provided for establishment of a Central Tribal University in Telangana.

The other Bills included the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023; the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023; and the Telecommunications Bill, 2023.

The productivity of Lok Sabha was approximately 74 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha was approximately 79 per cent.