Rajya Sabha adjourns sine die

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday, concluding a session that witnessed more chaos than legislative business, with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urging members to reflect and choose between meaningful debate and destructive disruption.

The House was adjourned sine die after adoption of a motion to nominate 12 members of Rajya Sabha to the joint committee of Parliament to examine the two bills on holding of simultaneous polls in the country.

In his concluding remarks, the Chairman said, "Our democratic legacy demands we rise above political differences and restore the sanctity of Parliamentary discourse".

He said the House effectively functioned for just 43 hours and 27 minutes with a productivity of merely 40.03 percent during the Winter Session that began on November 25.

Dhankhar said he was imparting the Valedictory Remarks taking note of the suggestion made after concurring with Leader of the House J P Nadda, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, and other leaders including N D Gupta, Tiruchi Siva and Jairam Ramesh.

"As we conclude this session coinciding with the 75th anniversary of our Constitution, we face a moment of serious reflection. While our celebration of Samvidhan Diwas in the historic Samvidhan Sadan was meant to reaffirm democratic values, our actions in this House tell a different story. The stark reality is troubling.

"This session's productivity stands at a mere 40.03 per cent with just 43 hours and 27 minutes of productive functioning. As Parliamentarians we are drawing severe criticism from the people of India and rightfully so. These persistent disruptions are steadily eroding public trust in our democratic institutions," Dhankhar said.

He said while the Upper House did pass the Oilfields Amendment Bill and the Boilers Bill of 2024 and had the statement by the Minister of External Affairs on the India-China relations, these achievements are overshadowed by "our failures".

"The growing trend of publicising notices through media before Parliamentary consideration and recourse to Rule 267 further undermine our institutional dignity," he noted.

"We stand at a critical crossroads. The 1.4 billion citizens of Bharat expect better from us. It is time to choose between meaningful debate and destructive disruption. Our democratic legacy demands we rise above political differences and restore the sanctity of Parliamentary discourse," he said.

"Let us return with renewed commitment to serve our nation with the dignity it deserves," the Chairman asserted before adjourning the House sine die.

Earlier, when the House met this morning, it witnessed protests by opposition members and was adjourned amid the din.

The Chairman also held a meeting with Leader of the House J P Nadda, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge besides the leaders of various opposition parties in a bid to end the impasse in the House.

When the House again met at 12 noon, the Chairman asked Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to move a motion for nominating members of the Upper House to the joint committee of Parliament to examine the bills related to 'one nation, one election'.

The motion was adopted with a voice vote.