By IANS,
New Delhi : Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal Friday expressed dissatisfaction over the loss of time due to disruptions in parliament and said that it did not reflect the true spirit of democracy.
Talking to mediapersons here, Bansal said very few bills could be taken up as the session was mainly devoted to the financial business and its duration was curtailed due to the forthcoming assembly polls in a few states.
He said eight bills, including the Finance Bill and appropriation bills, were passed by the two houses of parliament during the session that began Feb 21 and ended Friday.
The other bills passed by the two houses include the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill, 2011, the Repatriation of Prisoners (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Amendment Bill, 2011.
The Rajya Sabha passed ten bills including the Orissa (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2011. The Lok Sabha also passed 10 bills including the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2010.
The bills introduced in the Lok Sabha include the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011 and the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2011.
The bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha include the Mines (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011.
Bansal said 24 hours and 43 minutes of time in Lok Sabha was lost due to disruptions but the house made up 26 hours and 36 minutes by sitting late. He said Rajya Sabha lost 23 hours 50 minutes and made up seven hours and five minutes.
He said that compensation of lost time was not entirely satisfying and a single minute should not be wasted.
“True spirit of democracy is that even on most contentious issues, there is no disruption,” he said.
Asked about the women’s reservation bill, he said that the government was committed to its passage.