Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh on Thursday said that the total time lost during the ongoing Monsoon session was 30 hours and 6 minutes till July 30.
The deputy chairman said, “In the Rajya Sabha, we had the opportunity to raise 120 questions, 120 zero-hour submissions and 120 special mentions, whereas only 11 questions, 3 zero-hour submissions and 17 special mentions could be done”.
High Time To Introspect: Rajya Sabha Dy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh
The Deputy Chairman further stated that the mandate given by the people has not been fulfilled, adding, “It is high time for us to introspect in the context of the Resolution unanimously adopted by the Rajya Sabha on 1st September 1997, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Independence, which inter alia stated.
“That the prestige of the Parliament be preserved and enhanced, also by conscious and dignified conformity to the entire regime of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Houses and directions of the Presiding Officers relating to orderly conduct of business,” he added.
Roughly Rs 2.5 Lakh Required To Run Parliament Per Minute
As per reports, roughly Rs 2.5 lakh is required to run Parliament per minute. The cost includes the building and other maintenance expenditures such as electricity, water, food bills, parliament security, salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament.
Although this year’s report on the “cost to run Parliament” is yet to be released by the PRS Legislative Research, a non-profit organisation that tracks the functioning of Parliament. But, by comparing the same report for the monsoon session in 2021, released by the PRS, it is extracted that Parliament functioned for only 18 hours out of the scheduled time of 107 hours, resulting in a loss of more than Rs 133 crore.
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