Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Wednesday, a day ahead of schedule.The Winter Session, which began on November 29, saw a deadlock between the Opposition and the government in the Rajya Sabha over the suspension of a dozen MPs due to alleged unruly behaviour during the previous Monsoon Session. The suspended MPs demonstrated in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex every day, with support from Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and other MPs.On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha saw a heated discussion on the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which seeks to raise the age of legal marriage for women from 18 to 21. Members of the Congress and other Opposition parties opposed the Bill and questioned the “haste” with which it had been brought to the House. Introduced by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, the Bill, which proposed amendments to the 2006 law, was sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for further discussion.Incidentally, with the Rajya Sabha’s adjournment, the suspension of Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien is one of the shortest ones. He was suspended on Tuesday for the remaining part of the session for ‘unruly behaviour’ after allegedly throwing the Rajya Sabha Rule Book towards the Chair during the discussion on Election Laws (Amendment Bill) 2021.
