The Lok Sabha created a record of sorts with the passage of as many as eight Bills in a span of 17 minutes. Their passage took place on the concluding day of the session and when there was a lot of din in the Lower House.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena were demanding sacking of Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay while the Left parties were protesting the way the government has gone about introduction of Bills on the insurance sector reforms despite opposition from workers.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi, however, disagreed, suggesting that the passage was not a record and merely said such things have happened in the past.
Squarely blaming the Opposition for its failure to cooperate in the passage of the Bills and leading to such a situation, Ravi said, "The government has not disowned the House, the opposition has disowned the House. They should answer this question."
Ravi said this was not the first time so many Bills have been passed in such a short time. "There have been precedents. This is not a record," he said.
The Left parties stayed away from the concluding part of the proceedings and instead staged a protest at the main
entrance, accusing Congress and BJP of being hand-in-glove in "killing democracy". Left members were also unhappy with the way the House was being run.
