INDIA bloc skips tea as Parliament's Monsoon Session yields just 19% productivity

The Monsoon Session of Parliament concluded on Thursday after weeks of protests and disruptions, with the Lok Sabha recording only 19% productivity and the Rajya Sabha 39%. In a symbolic break from convention, the Congress and its allies in the INDIA bloc declined to attend the customary tea hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the session's close.

The session had been marred by opposition protests from its very beginning. On Thursday, Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal and other opposition leaders staged a demonstration on Parliament premises. The opposition raised multiple demands, including a discussion on the theft of donations at the Ram temple and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on the issue, which the government rejected.

Despite the din, the government managed to push through 12 bills. However, only one of them—the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill—saw opposition participation in discussion, as it allowed members to raise the NEET-UG paper leak and student protests. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill was referred to a joint parliamentary committee for scrutiny following objections from the opposition and church bodies. A widely speculated Constitution amendment bill to increase Lok Sabha's strength by 50% and provide a one-third quota for women from 2029 was not introduced.

Speaker Om Birla skipped his usual practice of summarising the House's performance and ended the session as soon as business began. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, both criticised by the opposition for not attending proceedings, were present in the Lok Sabha on the final day.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) squarely blamed Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for the low productivity. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said Gandhi's conduct was irresponsible and would not benefit the Congress. "Parliament is not a theatre. It will not function under your sense of entitlement and exceptionalism. This attitude of 'my way or the highway' will not work," Prasad said.

Congress, in turn, said the government was "scared like never before" and that opposition unity and solidarity were on full display. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh defended the protests, stating that the government's refusal to address their concerns forced the opposition to take a hard line.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Congress kept changing its demands and that the government had agreed to them. "This is not good for democracy," he added. Rijiju said he personally reached out to Rahul Gandhi to attend the tea, but the Leader of Opposition declined.

Rajya Sabha Chairperson C P Radhakrishnan expressed concern over "persistent disorder and frequent disruptions", noting that the loss of working hours deprived the House of meaningful discussion and debate on matters of national importance.