Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Parliamentary affairs: On the last session of the 17th Lok Sabha

Parliamentary affairs: On the last session of the 17th Lok Sabha

The last 17th Lok Sabha session served as a preparatory forum for the polls

With the conclusion of the last session of the 17th Lok Sabha on Saturday, the bugle has been sounded and the battle lines drawn for the general election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi mounted (To organize and begin an activity or event) a sharp attack on the Congress and its leaders in his various interventions (हस्तक्षेप) during the session, while avoiding criticism of any of the regional parties or their leaders. After the unprecedented (अभूतपूर्व) suspension (निलंबन) of 146 members during the winter session, the last session began on a more cheerful note. All members were back in the House, including the 14 Members of Parliament (MP) whose cases were referred to the privilege (विशेषाधिकार) committees of the two Houses. The committees cleared their names, just ahead of the session. But Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP and leader Sanjay Singh, who was recently reelected to the Upper House, could not take oath on the ground that the breach of privilege cases against him moved in his previous term are still pending. The Rajya Sabha privileges committee has not even scheduled a meeting.

The session was extended by a day to debate a resolution (प्रस्ताव, संकल्प) on the Ram Temple. The Left parties were the only ones to take a clear stand in their boycott by announcing that they would not be a party to any communal (सांप्रदायिक) agenda (कार्यसूची). The other Opposition parties, not willing to invite any controversy, came up with different reasons to stay away. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, in the Lok Sabha, cited the plight of Tamil fishermen, and, in the Rajya Sabha, focused on the Centre’s indifference towards the destruction (विनाश) caused by flooding in the State to stay away from the proceedings. The Trinamool Congress and AAP MPs were not to be seen. The last five years have been unprecedented in Indian parliamentary history. Parliament shifted to newer and much larger precincts (परिसीमा, सीमाप्रांत), amid criticism of its design, from the British-era building. Paradoxically (विरोधाभासी ढंग से), just as parliamentarians got more room, the 17th Lok Sabha witnessed (दर्शक) the continuous erosion of the role of the Opposition. In a first, the Lok Sabha functioned without a Deputy Speaker — a post that is conventionally (पारंपरिक, परंपरागत ढंग से) occupied by the Opposition — for the entire term. The five years were also marked by a steady decline in the Opposition’s bench strength in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress has only 30 members in the Upper House, far behind the 93 members from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The government had its way and say, while the Opposition spent time on the sidelines.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Interventions (noun)

Hindi Meaning - हस्तक्षेप
English Meaning - The act or fact of becoming involved intentionally in a difficult situation.

2.Unprecedented (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अभूतपूर्व
English Meaning - Never having happened or existed in the past.

3.Suspension (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निलंबन
English Meaning - The act of stopping something happening, operating, etc. for some time.

4.Privilege (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विशेषाधिकार
English Meaning - An opportunity to do something special or enjoyable.

5.Resolution (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रस्ताव, संकल्प
English Meaning - An official decision that is made after a group or organization has voted.

6.Communal (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सांप्रदायिक
English Meaning - Belonging to or used by a group of people rather than one single person.

7.Agenda (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कार्यसूची
English Meaning - A list of matters to be discussed at a meeting.

8.Destruction (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विनाश
English Meaning - The act of destroying something, or the fact of being destroyed.

9.Precincts (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिसीमा, सीमाप्रांत
English Meaning - A division of a city or town, esp. an area protected by one police station, or a division used for elections.

10.Paradoxically (abverb)

Hindi Meaning - विरोधाभासी ढंग से
English Meaning - In a way that seems impossible or difficult to understand because of containing two opposite facts or characteristics.

11.Witnessed (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दर्शक
English Meaning - To see something happen, especially an accident or crime.

12.Conventionally (abverb)

Hindi Meaning - पारंपरिक, परंपरागत ढंग से
English Meaning - In a way that is traditional and ordinary.

13.Mounted (noun)

English Meaning - To organize and begin an activity or event.