Rajya Sabha members congratulate Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on completion of all questions during Question Hour

Rajya Sabha Members on July 2 congratulated Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on completion of all starred questions during the Question Hour.

The last time the House completed all the starred questions was on January 2, 2018, which then set a new record by achieving the target after a gap of 15 years. A total of 15 questions were listed in the schedule for the day in the Upper House. However, supplementaries on all questions could not be raised.

On June 28, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had asked the government and the opposition parties to hold regular interaction, both formal and informal, to arrive at some consensus on issues and clear pending bills.

READ: Government, Opposition Should Hold Regular Interactions: M Venkaiah Naidu

In the past several sessions, the Rajya Sabha had witnessed frequent disruptions and adjournments, affecting the business of the Upper House. As many as 22 bills pending in the Rajya Sabha, had lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha last month and another 33 bills had been pending consideration in the Upper House for years including three of them for more than 20 years.

The government and other members should interact and the former should take initiative to clear pending legislative business, he added. Naidu said efforts should be made to find out where the problem is, is it with the government, opposition, the House or the system.

"At the end of the day, I want to see my House, our House get appreciation," he added.

Venkaiah Naidu, who is also Vice President of India, suggested that once a bill is cleared by a Parliamentary Committee, comprising members from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, it should go through until and unless there is something very urgent that requires further deliberations. The Chairman also told the members that he was looking into their suggestions regarding "parliament scrutiny" of bills.

Prior to 2018, the last time all listed starred questions were taken up was in 2002 during the 197th Session of the Upper House, officials in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said.

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