New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS): After the end of the Winter Session of Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has levelled allegations against the Congress and other opposition parties, saying that the latter are unable to digest their defeat in the 2019 general elections and are therefore continuously disrupting Parliament's proceedings.

Talking to the media, Joshi said that in the all-party meeting held on November 28, all parties had demanded a discussion on the issue of inflation. Both the Speaker and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha gave permission to the opposition parties for a debate in the House.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was present in the Rajya Sabha to respond on behalf of the government but the opposition parties staged a walkout from the House on the issue of A discussion.

Refuting the allegations that the bills were passed hastily and the opposition was not given a chance to speak in Parliament, Joshi said everything was done according to rules and conventions.

If the opposition MPs had remained seated, there would have been a discussion but they continued to create a ruckus in the House.

Rejecting the opposition parties' objection to the bill related to electoral reforms, the Minister said that this bill had come from the Parliamentary Standing Committee, adding that the opposition MPs do not participate in discussions. The whole country saw what Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien did in Parliament on Tuesday.

Speaking about the functioning of the Winter Session of Parliament, Pralhad Joshi said that the session began on November 29 and was adjourned indefinitely on December 22, a day before the proposed schedule. He said that a total of 18 sittings were held during the session spanning 24 days.

During the session, a total of 13 Bills (12 in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha) were introduced, of which 11 were passed by both the Houses. The House also passed three ordinances brought before the session. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, was sent to a joint committee of both the Houses. Apart from this, a total of five bills, including bills related to raising the age of marriage of women, have been sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

He said that the productivity of the Lok Sabha with respect to work was nearly 82 per cent, whereas despite the uproar 48 per cent work was done in the Rajya Sabha.

Responding to former Congress President Rahul Gandhi's alleged charges of not allowing him to speak in Parliament, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said that both Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were given an opportunity to speak during Zero Hour without any notice. He said that Rahul Gandhi was given an opportunity to ask questions during Question Hour but he started speaking on some other issue.