Productivity in Lok Sabha was 19 per cent, and in Rajya Sabha 39 per cent, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday, as he blamed the Congress for disrupting proceedings during the Monsoon Session and expressed disappointment over the low level of debate.
Addressing a press conference after both Houses were adjourned sine die, Rijiju said Parliament had witnessed “very poor productivity” during the session and alleged that the Opposition had repeatedly avoided discussions despite the government's willingness to debate.
"For the first time, we have seen the Opposition running away from debate in Parliament when the government wanted discussions. Congress is solely responsible for unfairly disrupting the proceedings," he said.
Rijiju said 12 Bills were passed during the Monsoon Session, but only one was discussed in both Houses.
The session, which began on July 20, was marked by repeated disruptions, with Opposition protests initially centred on the NEET paper leak and alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The
Opposition later sought a discussion on police action against students protesting over the NEET issue and demanded statements from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
In a bid to end the deadlock, the government on Monday offered a debate on the NEET issue followed by a reply from Shah. The Congress rejected the proposal. A similar attempt on Wednesday also failed.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition wanted answers on the police action against protesting students and was not interested in listening to Shah's “imagination and lecture”.
Gandhi said the youth wanted to know who ordered that the “protesting students be shot at” with pellet guns.
He said that if Shah ordered the action, he was culpable, and if he did not, he was incompetent.
"In both cases, he should resign," the Congress leader said.
(With inputs from PTI)