Passage of the long-pending Goods and Services Tax bill and a unanimous resolution on Kashmir were the highlights of the "highly productive" Monsoon session of Parliament which was adjourned sine die on Friday after 20 sittings.
Here are highlights of the Monsoon session:
1) The session witnessed Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhagwant Mann being barred from attending the Lok Sabha after he filmed and uploaded a video of Parliament complex on social media, an episode which is being probed into by a Parliamentary Committee set up by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The Lok Sabha Speaker said an inquiry committee has been constituted to go into various issues of uploading of footage of Parliament complex on social media by Bhagwant Mann. The Committee is seized of the matter, she added.
2) While the House lost over 6 hours and 33 minutes of time due to interruptions followed by forced adjournments, it sat late for over 18 hours to discuss various important issues. Rajya Sabha deliberated for more than 112 hours during the 20 sittings, the Lok Sabha sat for 121 hours.
3) While 13 legislations were passed by the Lok Sabha, the Upper House approved 14 laws.
4) Besides the GST Constituional Amendment, the key bills which were passed include Benami Transactions (Prohibition) bill, Taxation laws (Amendment) bill, Factories (Amendment) bill, Employee's Compensation (Amendment) Bill and the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) bill.
5) As many as 59 elected, re-elected and nominated members joined the Rajya Sabha.
6) The Lok Sabha took up 4 discussions, including on violence in Kashmir, price rise, sustainable development goals and atrocities against Dalits. The Rajya Sabha held an "animated debate" while considering and passing the Constitution (122nd
Amendment) Bill, 2014, to pave the way for rollout of a new indirect tax regime, Goods and Service Tax.
7) Both the Houses passed a unanimous resolution on prevailing situation in Kashmir Valley. It earnestly appealed to all sections of the society in Jammu and Kashmir, to work for the early restoration of normalcy and harmony and unanimously resolved to restore the confidence among the people in general and youth in particular. It also resolved there can be no compromise with the country's unity, integrity and national security.
Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lokh Sabha. Photograph: TV GRAB/PTI Photo
