Rajya Sabha Functioned For 92 Hours With 121% Productivity: C P Radhakrishnan

New Delhi: The 269th session of the Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned sine die on Friday, registered an unprecedented number of Zero Hour Notices, with an average of over 84 notices received per day — a nearly 31 per cent increase compared to the preceding two Sessions, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has said.

The House functioned for a total of around 92 hours, taking the productivity of this Session to 121 per cent.

Announcing the sine die, Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, in his valedictory remarks, said the Session that ended today was a very productive one. “I hope that in the coming sessions too, we will have more fruitful debates,” he said.

However, Radhakrishnan added that disruption by Opposition members during Thursday’s sitting, in which they shouted slogans, displayed placards, disrupted the Minister replying to the discussion, and tearing up papers before throwing them into the well of the House, showed conduct unbecoming of MPs. “I earnestly hope that Hon’ble Members will introspect and not repeat such unruly behaviour in future,” he said.

Rajya Sabha Functioned For 92 Hours With 121% Productivity: C P Radhakrishnan (ETV Bharat)

“In my first address to this august House, I had sought your co-operation for the smooth functioning of the House. I had urged you all to use every Parliamentary device, such as Questions, Special Mentions, Zero Hour Submissions, and others, with sincerity. I am happy that Hon’ble Members cooperated with the Chair to complete a significant amount of business during the Winter Session. I am pleased to mention that the House gave its consent to sit late or skip lunch recess on five days to transact the business,” he said.

Radhakrishnan said the Session witnessed an unprecedented number of Zero Hour Notices, with an average of over 84 per day — a nearly 31 per cent increase over the two preceding Sessions.

“Further, the number of matters actually raised during Zero Hour significantly surpassed previous benchmarks, averaging more than 15 matters per day — a nearly 50 per cent increase compared to the preceding two Sessions. We must keep up the good work, keeping in mind that the people of this great nation look up to us as custodians of democracy,” he said.

Praising the Rajya Sabha MPs, Radhakrishnan said that they have all positively responded to his call to spend every day, every hour, every minute, every second in the House to strengthen democracy by meaningful debates and discussions.

“This session was marked by high-quality debates and discussions on issues of historical and democratic significance. The House held a special commemorative discussion on the 150th Anniversary of our National Song ‘Vande Mataram’. The discussion spanned over two days, with an impressive number of 82 Members participating. The House also took up a discussion on Election Reforms, in which 57 Members shared their valuable insights on strengthening our democratic processes over a period of three days,” he said.

He added that the House also transacted important financial and legislative business during this session, engaging in constructive debates and active participation on several key Bills.

“The House passed/returned eight Bills and adopted a Statutory Resolution regarding the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024, which saw overall participation of 212 Members,” he said.

Stating that the vibrancy of India’s Parliamentary democracy is often best reflected during the transaction of Private Members’ Business in the House, he said, “I am happy to note the enthusiasm shown by Members in this regard. A remarkable number — as many as 59 Private Members' Bills — were introduced during this Session. In the discussion on each Private Members' Bill and Resolution, 22 Members participated.”

The session registered 58 Starred questions, 208 Zero Hour Submissions and 87 Special Mentions.

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