Parliament’s Monsoon Session, held amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic, was adjourned sine die Wednesday, eight days before it was to end, due to the growing coronavirus threat, as minister of state for railways Suresh Angadi, BJP MP from Karnataka, died from the disease minutes after the session ended. Several MPs from both Houses had skipped the session due to the health risk.
The truncated session’s highlight was passage of the controversial farm bills, that triggered farmers’ agitations across India and a political storm as key NDA ally Akali Dal opposed the bills and food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Cabinet.
Overall, 25 bills were passed by the Lok Sabha and a long discussion was held on the pandemic. Among key bills passed were the Essential Commodities Amendment Bill, Industries Code Bill and the J&K Official Language Bill, besides…