New Delhi: Three bills were passed in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday within minutes and one was introduced, as Congress and BJP came together to complete the pending legislative business but Left parties staged a walkout alleging that "A- Team and B-Team" have come together with an "understanding" to pass the measures without any debate.
The bills were passed within a few minutes without debate amid noisy scenes in the House. The bills passed were the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (Amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
While the first two bills are aimed at creating commercial benches in select high courts and amending a law on arbitration for speedy settlement of high value business disputes, the Atomic Energy Bill will allow state-run NPCIL to have collaboration with other PSUs in the nuclear field.
The Atomic Energy Bill that was passed in Lok Sabha on December 14, proposes to amend the 1962 Atomic Energy Act to change the definition of "government company" with a view to expand its scope by including such joint venture companies which may be formed between NPCIL and other PSUs.
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh also introduced the Rajendra Central Agriculture University Bill, 2015 that seeks to convert the existing agriculture university of Bihar in Pusa to a central university for the development of agriculture and agricultural studies.
Opposing the passage of bills without discussion, D Raja (CPI) said it was not a good precedent to pass bills in such a manner. K N Balagopal (CPI-M) said the Congress and BJP were acting as A-Team and B-Team and not allowing the House to discuss the bills.
Trinamool Congress member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy also agreed with Raja. They felt that there were some "fundamental issues" with the Atomic Energy Bill in particular.
Raja, who was a member in the Parliamentary panel that examined the Commercial Courts Bill, said there was "no consensus" on the measure and it will have "serious repercussions" for justice delivery to the poor.
In a strong message, Ansari said "vehemence in language or behaviour resulting in obstruction of proceedings, apart from interruption and neglect of listed agenda," also resulted in violation of privileges of individual Members themselves.
"It reflects adversely on the parliamentary process and our commitment to it. There is an imperative need to dispel this impression," the Chairman said.
"Forgotten" in the process are the limitations of the rules of procedure, the operative assumptions on which they were framed and the various Rulings and Observations from the Chair pertaining to the requirement of decorum and dignity.
Ansari said the Chair appreciated the view that a political assembly works on its perception of public impulses.
"Normal disciplinary procedures, therefore, have their limitations. The counterpart of this approach is self-discipline and a commitment to fulfil the objectives and purposes of a legislative body," he said.
The Session had 20 sittings and the House sat for over 60 hours. During the Session, over 47 hours were lost on various issues like Kumari Selja's remark about being asked about her caste at a temple in Gujarat, alleged anti-Dalit remarks of Union Minister V K Singh and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's reported comments on Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The other issues included court summons to top Congress functionaries in the National Herald case, opposition to the multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project, atrocities on dalits in Punjab, role of Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and alleged irregularities in the functioning of DDCA and demand for resignation of Minister of Finance.
During the session, two Government Bills were withdrawn and one Bill introduced.
The House passed or returned nine Bills, including the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, the Appropriation Bills, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill.
The other Bills passed were the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, the Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill.
The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 was referred to the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2015, referred to a Joint Committee of both the Houses.
There were short-duration discussions on damage caused due to North-East monsoon rain and floods in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh situation in Nepal and the state of Indo-Nepal relations and the flood and drought situation.
While concurring with him, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien cited "compulsion" in allowing the passage of some bills without discussion due to the House not functioning earlier.
