Parliament’s functioning in 2017 was different in some respects. The
Houses had a productive Budget Session, and some work could be achieved
in the Monsoon Session. State elections delayed the Winter Session.
This year, Parliament worked for fewer days than the annual average
since 2000. By the end of this month, Parliament would have worked for
57 days, short of the average 70 days during this period.
The last time
Parliament met for fewer days (in a non-general election year) was in
2008, when it met for 46 days during the 14th Lok Sabha.
In 2017, Parliament discussed 34% of the government’s expenditure — this
was the second highest proportion of total expenditure discussed by
Parliament over the last decade. There were three key changes in the
Budget process: it was presented on February 1 instead of the usual last
day of February; the Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget,
discontinuing a 92-year-old practice; and the Plan and non-Plan
classifications of expenditure were removed.
The NDA Government was successful in getting some key Bills approved by
Parliament. Four bills passed in April operationalised the Goods and
Services Tax (GST) regime. In February, a Bill removing the guarantee of
the government to honour demonetised currency notes was passed by Lok
Sabha. In August, the government was successful in pushing through a
Bill empowering the Reserve Bank to give directions to banks for the
resolution of their non-performing assets.
In March, Parliament passed a Bill increasing maternity leave for
women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. It also passed a Bill in the same month
to protect the rights of persons with mental illness, and promote their
access to mental healthcare. In April, a legislative proposal pending
since 2014, prohibiting discrimination against HIV positive individuals,
was passed by both Houses. In the ongoing Winter Session, a bill giving
20 Indian Institutes of Management the power to grant degrees was
approved by Parliament
However, it was not all smooth sailing for the government in Parliament.
The Opposition in Rajya Sabha scored a legislative victory in July when
it forced the amendment of a key provision of a Bill giving
constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes
(NCBC).
A key takeaway from the functioning of Parliament this year was the
reduced role of Parliamentary Committees in scrutinising legislation.
All the four GST-related Bills, the Bill related to demonetisation, the
powers of the RBI, maternity benefits and the IIMs were passed without
being examined by a Committee of Parliament. In the 16th Lok Sabha, less
than 30% of Bills have been scrutinised by departmentally-related
Standing Committees, compared to approximately 70% in the 15th and 60%
in the 14th Lok Sabha.
In addition to debating legislation, the two Houses deliberated on
national issues. These ranged from electoral reforms to lynching and mob
violence, the Quit India Movement (which completed 75 years),
sustainable development goals, the crisis in the farm sector, and
floods. But the time for deliberation on both national and legislative
issues was curtailed by disruption of proceedings in the Houses. While
the Budget Session functioned smoothly, this momentum was not carried
forward to the Monsoon Session and the ongoing Winter Session. During
the Monsoon Session, six Opposition MPs were suspended for lowering the
dignity of the Speaker of Lok Sabha.
A casualty of the disruptions was Question Hour. During the Budget
Session, Lok Sabha worked for 108% of its scheduled time, and Rajya
Sabha for 86%. During the Monsoon Session, this fell to 67% for Lok
Sabha and 72% for Rajya Sabha. In the first week of the Winter Session,
this number fell further to approximately 50% and 36% for the two Houses
respectively.
2017 saw the elections of a new President and Vice-President of India.
There was some churn in the memberships of both Houses; eight sitting
MPs passed away during the year.
Lok Sabha members Yogi Adityanath and
Keshav Prasad Maurya resigned to assume the offices of the Chief
Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively of Uttar Pradesh after
the BJP’s massive electoral victory in the state.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar resigned from Rajya Sabha after assuming the office of the Chief
Minister of Goa.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s second term
in Rajya Sabha came to an end this year
Congress leader Ahmed Patel was
re-elected after a keenly contested vote.
BJP president Amit Shah was
elected for his first term in the Rajya Sabha.
JD(U) MPs Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar lost their Rajya Sabha seats
after they were disqualified under the anti-defection law.
And, in a
first for Lok Sabha, Snehlata Shrivastava became the first woman to be
appointed the Secretary General of the Lower House.
