Productive first week of Budget session in RS

New Delhi, Feb 7 () The first six sittings of Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Budget session have proved productive with the House recording productivity of 82.10 percent, a statement said.

During the sittings, the House witnessed a 15-hour debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address in the upper house. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the debate after Question Hour on Monday.

The discussion on the motion has been the main business transacted by the House over three days in which 50 members from 25 parties participated, an official statement said.

Against the total scheduled sitting time of 20 hours and 34 minutes, 4 hours 14 minutes were lost on February 3, due to disruption. The members, however, sat for extra 33 minutes beyond the business hours on Friday, the statement said.

To enable extra time for discussion on the Motion of Thanks, Question Hour was dispensed with on February 3 while both the Question Hour and Zero Hour were shelved on the next two days. Private Members' Business was not taken up on Friday.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, seeking to replace the Ordinance in this regard, was also introduced during the week.

The house also saw eight Zero Hour and seven Special Mentions made during the first week.

The House will take up the discussion on the general budget for 2021-21 during the coming week for which 10 hours have been allotted. SKC TIR TIR