The 25-day-long Monsoon Session of Parliament, which came to an end Thursday, was marred by adjournments, sloganeering, allegations and counter-allegations due to a sustained standoff between the ruling BJP-led NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc on various issues.
Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die following the recitation of the national song Vande Mataram immediately after their sittings resumed in the morning.
It turned out to be a stormy session that saw relentless protests by the Opposition members, within and outside Parliament, on police crackdown on the Jantar Mantar student protesters during their march on Parliament on July 20 – the opening day of the session – besides alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, with several Bills passed without a debate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi were present in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the session. This was the first time that both Modi and Shah were present in the House in the wake of the Opposition’s persistent demand that Shah make a statement on the police action against the Jantar Mantar protesters.
Addressing media persons later, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju blamed the Congress for “disrupting” the parliamentary proceedings during the session, claiming that it was for the first time that the Opposition “ran away” from discussion when the government wanted it.
“It was a good session… We have passed 12 Bills. But it was not a good session in terms of discussion. From the point of view of time-allocation, productivity in Lok Sabha was 19%; in Rajya Sabha, it was 39%. In the Rajya Sabha, even if there was a ruckus from the Opposition, some NDA and Opposition members would engage in a discussion,” Rijiju said.
“But, in my (three-decade) parliamentary experience, this was the first instance when the Opposition ran away from discussion. This is not good for a parliamentary form of democracy. They did not let a discussion take place, the Opposition ran away from it,” he alleged.
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“Regarding the Congress, it appears now all they think that their job is, is sloganeering and carrying placards. They made such an atmosphere in the House… that is what they have reduced Parliament to,” Rijiju said.
“I feel for the Congress MPs, especially the young ones. How will they gain experience if this goes on… I hope this will improve during the Winter Session. In this session, 12 Bills were passed; only one was discussed in Lok Sabha (anti-exam paper leak Bill); all 12 Bills were discussed in Rajya Sabha,” he added.
When asked whether the NDA government, which was said to have the “delimitation package”, including the proposed legislation to advance the implementation of 33% women quota in the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies, high on its list of priorities for this session, was considering a special session for the purpose, Rijiju said, “That is a matter for the future, we will discuss that later.”
On its part, the Congress alleged that never before had a government been so “scared and rattled” as the Modi government was during the Monsoon Session, adding that the Opposition scored five “big achievements”.
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The Congress also underlined that the Opposition unity was on full display during the entire session.
Congress MP and communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh said PM Modi and Shah stayed away from the parliamentary proceedings, appearing only on the last day just before the House was adjourned sine die.
“I want to remind you that the Monsoon Session has been washed out and 11 years ago in 2015, the Monsoon Session was washed out and the reason was the Vyapam scam. After 11 years, again an issue related to the youth resulted in a washout,” Ramesh told a press conference. He was accompanied by Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi.
“So nothing has changed in 11 years. There were laws made and now reels are being made but nothing has changed,” remarked Ramesh. “The Opposition walked together on the path we collectively decided.”
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Listing the Opposition’s “achievements”, Ramesh said one success was that the government’s proposed “One Nation, One Election” move was put off till the Winter Session as the Opposition raised several questions and the joint committee examining it did not table its report.
Similarly, the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025 was not brought as the joint committee examining it could not submit its report, he said. “We objected and raised questions and that report was also put off.”
Ramesh said the “third success” of the Opposition was that the constitutional amendment Bill proposing that the PM or a chief minister be removed from office automatically if they are arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days, could not be brought as a report on it was also not tabled by its parliamentary panel due to “collective pressure exerted by the Opposition”.
Ramesh said the FCRA or Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill being sent to a joint committee was also a success of the Opposition, though it wanted the withdrawal of the Bill.
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“The fifth success is that the attempt to get a tainted two-thirds majority was underway but could not succeed and the Constitution Amendment Bill involving delimitation could not be brought,” said Ramesh, claiming that “They don’t have a two-thirds majority and will never get it”.
In a swipe at Modi and Shah, Ramesh said, “No. 1 and No. 2 were not seen throughout the session and only seen just before the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die.”
Despite Bills from his ministry being taken up, Shah did not come to the House, he added.
Gogoi said, “We have seen many sessions but have never seen the government so scared and rattled as it was this time.”
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As per data published Thursday by the PRS Legislative Research, the Lok Sabha functioned for 15% of its scheduled time and the Rajya Sabha for 33% of its time during the Monsoon Session.