Parliament Winter Session 2024: The winter session started on 25 November, but the first session was full of uproar and allegations and counter-allegations. There were many debates between NDA and Congress regarding businessman Gautam Adani and billionaire George Soros. There was a disruption of 5 hours 37 minutes in this session, but despite this the MPs debated for 34.16 hours.
The second session was relatively more productive in which the debate time increased to 115.21 hours. However, this session was also not completely interference-free and there was a loss of 1 hour 53 minutes. During this session, the government introduced 12 bills, out of which 4 bills were passed by the Lok Sabha. MPs worked 33 more hours, resulting in considerable progress on pending agendas.
Situation worsened in the third session
The situation worsened in the third session after the clash on 19 December. In this session, 65 hours and 15 minutes were lost in the uproar. The debate time was reduced to only 62 hours. Despite this, MPs worked an extra 21.7 hours and introduced five bills, four of which were passed.
The bills introduced in the third session include the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024, the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024, the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Union Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Allocation (No. 3) Bill, 2024. Of these, Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were also passed.
Issues raised under Rule 377
In the third session, 397 issues were raised under Rule 377, which were 358 in the second session and 41 in the first session. Under this rule, MPs, with the permission of the Speaker, can raise such issues which are not included in the normal work of the House.
The session was declared closed with a total disruption of 70 hours. Despite this, the MPs fulfilled their responsibilities and tried to settle the pending work. The winter session highlighted both the complexities of Parliament’s proceedings and the commitment of MPs.
