The Monsoon Session of Parliament ended on Wednesday with 12 bills getting passed by the government amid political tussle regarding the declining scope of debate in the House.
While the government claimed the session was productive in terms of legislative work, sources said debate remained a matter of serious concern as disruptions, protests and adjournments took centerstage.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the monsoon session had been productive from the legislative angle but meaningful debate was missing.
Parliamentary records showed that 12 bills related to sectors like tribunals, taxation, cooperative development, mining reforms, public examinations, and increase in the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court got cleared by the two Houses of the Parliament. Only one bill - Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 -- remained pending till the end of the session.
Parliament sources revealed that all 12 bills pending for passage in the Rajya Sabha got considered by the Opposition-dominated house even amid disturbances, allowing the government to end the session with a good number of legislations.
Data, however, makes it clear that there was a huge gap between the number of bills passed and legislative discussion in the House.
Among the 12 bills passed by the Lok Sabha, 11 were passed without discussion. The only bill which witnessed an elaborate debate was the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which was aimed at tackling paper leaks and examination cheating.
But for the rest, the Opposition parties either hampered the proceedings or did not take part in debates.
In the Rajya Sabha, while the Congress and certain Opposition members went on walkouts in the middle of debates, regional parties continued participating in legislative activities.
The session's productivity figures spoke about the long-running stalemate.
Lok Sabha worked only for around 19 per cent of its scheduled time while the Rajya Sabha managed to record productivity of around 39 per cent. During the session, the Upper House sat for 37 hours and 49 minutes.
Parliamentary data also revealed that as many as 285 starred questions were listed during the session, but only 16 could be answered. In case of 380 Zero Hour questions submitted, only 52 could be accommodated. Similarly, only 93 out of the 380 Special Mentions listed could be debated.
The government held the Opposition Congress responsible for the disruption.
Addressing media after the House was adjourned sine die, Rijiju criticised the principal Opposition party for deliberately avoiding discussions.
"A total of 12 bills were passed but we are not satisfied with the quality of discussion because the Opposition did not allow proper debate to take place, especially in the Lok Sabha," he said.
The minister said this time, the session saw an unusual scenario in which the government was constantly seeking discussion and Opposition was trying to avoid it.
"The Opposition seeks answers from the government and the government is obliged to give them. But this time the government was requesting for discussion and the Opposition was finding reasons to avoid it," he said.
Rijiju reserved his sharpest comments for the conduct of the Congress MPs. He also expressed concern over the newly elected Opposition MPs losing the opportunity of learning through debates and discussions.
Repeated efforts were made by the government to resolve the stalemate but failed as the standoff continued till the end of the session, he said.
The Monsoon Session, which started on July 20 and ended on August 13, was as much a political showdown as legislative session.
With Parliament now ending sine die, the political battle has moved out of parliament. While the government is emphasising the passing of 12 bills as an example of productivity of parliament amid disruptions, the Opposition is saying the government had no interest in discussing certain issues.
The blame game is expected to continue beyond the session and can resurface when parliament meets again for the Winter Session.
