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Even as the opposition and government were up in arms on electoral reforms and Vande Mataram, the winter session managed to strike a fine balance with MPs raising some key issues
(From left) MPs Supriya Sule, Raghav Chadha and Priyanka Chaturvedi raised key issues. (PTI)
Amid the acrimony and high-decibel exchange between the government and opposition, there were a few issues which were raised by some MPs, which gives hope that Parliament can be a people’s Parliament, or MPs can be people’s MPs.
While the winter session ended with no discussion on the matter which should matter the most –pollution — there were some issues which were taken up. Some suggestions made.
Take for example, Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Supriya Sule. In India, random calls during leave, being called to work over weekends, late-night calls, and emails which you have to take, is considered a given. To address this concern, Sule moved a private member’s bill called the ‘Right to Disconnect Bill‘. This nudges employers to give time off to employees and if they have to be on duty beyond duty hours, then a mutually agreeable compensation would be worked upon.
Then there were some important ones raised by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha, who has stayed away from party politics and ‘tu tu main main’ by raising some pertinent issues. Chadha is being remembered and appreciated for raising the issue of high cost of tea and coffee at airports, which made it inaccessible for poor travellers. He said this was contradicting the government’s vision of ‘hawai chappal to hawai jahaaz tak’ narrative. The result was the setting up of UDAAN cafes across airports at a reasonable cost. This was a big win for air travellers.
He has also taken up issues of people stuck at toll plazas and suggested that those stuck at plazas for more than five minutes must have their toll fees waived . Also, a strong pitch to protect the rights of YouTubers and digital creators who lose revenue due to copyright strikes, he suggested changes in India’s Copyright Act. He also pitched for help from the government for those who can’t afford immediate investments through a tokenisation bill.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, meanwhile, did not mince her words on the issue of pollution and Indigo chaos. In fact, when many in the opposition, like the Congress, walked out, Priyanka preferred to stay put and demand discussion on it. Even on the pollution issue, her party was the first to ask to adjourn all matters and take this up on an urgent basis.
It’s a fact that often those in government are handicapped by legislative business they have to move and support, and often can’t even raise issues or private bills which may be seen as taking on the government. It’s usually left to opposition leaders to do so.
In the winter session, in Lok Sabha, 137 private member bills were listed, and in Rajya Sabha, there were 59, ranging from topics such as reptile bites moved by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy to compulsory education for little children to the right to disconnect.
With the opposition and government up in arms on contentious issues like discussion on electoral reforms to Vande Mataram, once again the debate became on whether Parliament has lost its flavour and sheen by not raising people’s issues. But the winter session managed to find a fine balance on this.
December 21, 2025, 13:23 IST
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