The 268th Session of the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Thursday, with Deputy Chairman Harivansh expressing deep disappointment over repeated disruptions that hampered proceedings throughout the Monsoon Session.
Delivering his valedictory address, Harivansh noted that despite the Chair’s best efforts, the House lost valuable time to frequent adjournments, depriving members of the chance to debate critical issues of public importance.
“Despite the best efforts of the Chair to facilitate meaningful and disruption-free discussions, this Session was regrettably marred by repeated disruptions… This not only resulted in the loss of precious parliamentary time but also deprived us of the opportunity to deliberate upon several matters of public importance,” he said.
According to official figures, the House functioned for 41 hours and 15 minutes, recording a productivity of only 38.88%. Of the 285 listed Questions, only 14 were answered; of 285 Zero Hour submissions, only 7 were taken up; and out of 285 Special Mentions, just 61 were discussed.
The Monsoon Session, which began on July 21, witnessed frequent protests from Opposition members demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Amid the disruptions, the House managed to pass or return 15 government bills. A special two-day debate on Operation Sindoor—India’s decisive action in response to the Pahalgam terror attack—saw participation from 64 members, with Home Minister Amit Shah replying to the discussion.
Additionally, the Commerce and Industry Minister made a suo motu statement on India-US bilateral trade, and the House was officially apprised of the vacancy in the Vice-President’s office following Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation on July 21. The Election Commission has scheduled the Vice-Presidential election for September 9.
The session also saw farewell messages for six Tamil Nadu members whose terms ended on July 24, 2025.
Concluding his address, Harivansh urged members to draw lessons from the disrupted session and strive for more constructive deliberations in the future. He also extended festive greetings for Ganesh Chaturthi, Milad-un-Nabi, Onam, Durga Puja, Dussehra, and Diwali.
