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Updated: Aug 08, 2019 01:17 IST

The budget session of the Rajya Sabha, which adjourned sine die on Wednesday, has scripted a turnaround story and is the best session conducted in the last 17 years, RS chairman M Venkaiah Nadu said.

As many as 31 bills were passed in the budget session alone compared to 33 bills in the last five sessions. With a productivity of 104%, the performance of the 249th session of the Rajya Sabha -- during which the triple talaq and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill were passed -- is the fifth best in the last 41 years.

The performance of the Rajya Sabha is in stark contrast to its record between 2009 and 2014, when as much as “40 per cent” of the time of the House was lost to “disruptions”, Naidu told the Upper House on Wednesday. “With great pleasure, I have a turnaround story to report to all of you and the people of our country,” he added.

The Rajya Sabha passed 31 bills against the Lok Sabha’s 36 bills in the current session, Naidu said. The current session “is the best in the last 17 years” during which the House had 52 sessions, he added.

On 19 occasions, the House sat beyond scheduled hours during this session. Only nine hours and 12 minutes were lost because of disruptions, one of the lowest in many years.

Complimenting the MPs, Naidu said, “Let’s stay with the new normal of this session. Having reached where we have (in terms of productivity and reduction in disruptions), the challenge will be to sustain this.”

Naidu said the legislation criminalizing triple talaq and the bill that carved up Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories were “far-reaching and significant” and addressed “legacy issues”.

He said Zero Hour, during which MPs can raise issues of immediate public importance without notice, was the best in two decades. Issues as varied as pollution, circulation of fake news on social media, faulty hip implants and protection of wetlands were raised.

Even as it convened for its last sitting this session, the House considered and amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. It increased the number of judges in the top court from 32 to 35.

The Rajya Sabha also paid tribute to former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who died on Tuesday night and observed a moment of silence in her memory.