Rajya Sabha’s 17-hour Waqf bill debate echoes Parliament’s history of marathon sessions

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While the Rajya Sabha created a record by its long debate on the Waqf bill, Parliament has a history of marathon discussions, some stretching well past midnight with the longest such debate — lasting over 20 hours in the Lok Sabha, according to think tank PRS Legislative Research.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar highlighted the unprecedented 17-hour debate on the Waqf bill, the longest-ever sitting in the history of the House.

The Budget Session, which concluded on Friday saw extended sittings, with both Houses working beyond their scheduled hours.

The Lok Sabha functioned at 111% of its allotted time, while the Rajya Sabha surpassed its schedule by 117%, PRS data revealed.

Both Houses usually function between 11 am to 6 pm.

The highlight of the session was the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which led to prolonged discussions.

The Lok Sabha debated the bill for nearly 14 hours on April 2, while the Rajya Sabha sat until 4:02 am the following day, marking one of the longest sittings in recent history.

This echoes a similar marathon session in 1981 when the Rajya Sabha debated the Essential Services Maintenance Bill until 4:43 am.

The longest discussion was held on the issue of 'State of our democracy' in the Lok Sabha which extended for 20.08 hours followed by the Railway Budget of 1993 which extended for 18.35 hours, the Railway Budget of 1998 which extended for 18.04 hours, failure of the administration to ensure the security of minorities for 17.25 hours and the Essential Services Maintenance Bill, 1981 for 16.58 hours.

The session also saw brief but critical discussions on ratification of the President’s Rule in Manipur, approved by the Lok Sabha in 42 minutes and the Rajya Sabha in 1.24 hours, the report said.

The Lok Sabha functioned at 78 per cent and the Rajya Sabha for 83 per cent, with only 28 per cent of starred questions answered orally.

Eleven bills passed in the first year of the 18th Lok Sabha — the lowest since 1999. Only 10 per cent of total expenditure was debated in the Lok Sabha, with 90% passed without discussion, it said.

"Lok Sabha also discusses expenditure of Ministries. During this session, it discussed expenditures of three Ministries. About 90 per cent of total budgeted expenditure by amount was passed without discussion in Lok Sabha," the report said.