Operation Sindoor, Disruptions, Limited Discussion on Bills: How Parliament Spent Monsoon '25
PRS Legislative Research
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The Monsoon session of parliament was held between July 21 and August 21, 2025. Both Houses functioned for 21 days as originally scheduled.
However, two-thirds of the planned time was lost to disruptions. This affected Question Hour particularly hard – the Lok Sabha worked for 23% while the Rajya Sabha worked for 6% of the scheduled Question Hour.
Several Bills were also passed without discussion amidst the disruption. Each House reserves time on Friday afternoons to take up Bills and Resolutions proposed by private members; this was not taken up during this Session. The Lok Sabha continues to function without a deputy speaker – a constitutional requirement – for over six years now.
This note looks at the functioning of both the Houses during this period.
Lok Sabha functioned for 29% of its scheduled time, Rajya Sabha for 34%
Both Houses functioned for about a third of their scheduled time. This was the lowest functioning seen during the 18th Lok Sabha.
FS is First Session, BS is Budget Session, MS is Monsoon Session, and WS is Winter Session.
The functioning days were marked by disruptions. The House would repeatedly get adjourned during the day only to meet for a few minutes before adjourning again. This can be seen in the charts below.
The shaded areas represent functioning hours of the House, and white areas indicate that the House was adjourned during the period.
Less than 10% of starred questions answered orally in both Houses
No questions were answered orally on 12 days in the Rajya Sabha and seven days in the Lok Sabha. Ministers gave oral responses to 8% of starred questions in the Lok Sabha, and to 5% of starred questions in the Rajya Sabha. When questions are answered orally, MPs can ask supplementary questions.
Note: Question Hour was not held during MS 2020 and FS 2024. *17th LS Budget Session.
Limited discussion on Bills before passing; five Bills referred to Committees
Thirteen Bills were introduced during the session (excluding appropriation Bills). Three were referred to Joint Committees, and two were referred to Select Committees of the Lok Sabha. The other eight were passed within the session.
Usually, Bills are examined by Departmentally Related Standing Committees. During the 17th Lok Sabha, of the 30 Bills referred to Committees, 24 Bills were referred to Standing Committees, five to Joint Committees and one to a Select Committee.
The Select Committee of the Lok Sabha presented its report on the Income-Tax Bill, 2025. The Bill was later withdrawn. Instead, a new Bill, the Income Tax (No.2) Bill, 2025 was introduced and passed on the same day in the Lok Sabha, without any discussion.
Fourteen Bills were passed by both Houses (excluding finance appropriation Bills). Many of these Bills were passed with limited discussion. Some were passed within a week of introduction (see Table).
50% of functioning time of Lok Sabha spent on discussing Operation Sindoor
Operation Sindoor was discussed for about 19 hours in the Lok Sabha and 16 hours in the Rajya Sabha. It comprised about half the total functioning time of the Lok Sabha and more than a third of the functioning time of the Rajya Sabha.
A motion to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma (currently a judge of the Allahabad high court) was admitted by the Lok Sabha speaker. A three-member committee has been constituted to examine the issue.
No private members’ business taken up in either House
Every Friday, two and a half hours are reserved for private members’ (MPs who are not ministers) Bills and resolutions. No private members’ business was held in either House during this session. Private member Bills have not been introduced or discussed for over a year in Lok Sabha.
No deputy speaker in Lok Sabha since June 2019
The 18th Lok Sabha has not yet elected a deputy speaker. The 17th Lok Sabha did not elect a deputy speaker in its entire five-year term. The constitution requires the Lok Sabha to choose a speaker and a deputy speaker as soon as possible.
The deputy speaker acts as the speaker in case of a vacancy or the absence of the speaker due to ill-health. No-confidence motions against the speaker are also submitted to the deputy speaker.
Sources: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Lists of Business, Bulletins; Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Statistical Statement 2023, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Reports of the Business Advisory Committee; PRS.
This analysis is republished here with permission of PRS Legislative Research.
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