The productivity of the Rajya Sabha in the third week of the monsoon session of parliament has gone up to 24.2 per cent, as compared to the previous week, with the passing of eight bills, sources in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said.
68 Rajya Sabha members from 17 parties discussed eight bills during the week.
Since the session began on July 19, 60 of the 78 hours of time of the house were lost due to disruptions. Further, 197 Zero Hour and 153 special mention occasions were lost.
Since the start of the monsoon session of parliament, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have witnessed constant disruptions over several issues, including the Pegasus snooping scandal, with face-offs between the government and the opposition.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed the opposition, saying repeated adjournments forced by the opposition were "an insult to the constitution... to democracy and to the public".
"Parliament is being insulted by the acts of the Opposition in both Houses. The person who snatched the paper and tore it is not repentant of his acts," the Prime Minister told BJP MPs at a meeting.
He was referring to Trinamool MP Santanu Sen who snatched IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's papers, as he was about to make a statement on the Pegasus row.
On Wednesday, six Trinamool Congress MPs were ordered to leave the Rajya Sabha for rest of the day over "grossly disorderly" conduct, after they entered the well of the house and displayed placards while protesting over the Pegasus scandal.
The opposition has accused the government of "bulldozing bills" without discussion.
"Bulldozing Bills in Parliament. 27 Bills passed with an average discussion time of just 10 minutes," Trinamool Congress member Derek O' Brien tweeted today. He had earlier accusing the government of "making papri chaat (a popular fast-food)" by rushing bills.
The productivity of the upper house had fallen, thanks to disruptions, from 32.2 per cent in the first week to 13.7 per cent in the second.
The overall productivity of the Rajya Sabha for the first three weeks of the monsoon session has been 22.60 per cent.
