New Delhi: Budget Session concluded on Thursday with both Houses of Parliament being adjourned sine die amid ruckus by the Opposition over their demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue. Annoyed with the sloganeering by the Opposition MPs despite repeated pleas to bring the House in order, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla slammed the Opposition saying that their actions were unbecoming of a Parliamentary system.
The soft-spoken Speaker seemed visibly annoyed and did not mince any words in chiding the Opposition members. He accused them of being reluctant to discuss any issue in the House and disrupting the proceedings.
" You have lowered the dignity of the House. Such behavior is not good for the parliamentary system and the country," said Birla. He also said that the House is the place for debate and discussions but it was being systematically disrupted adding that such behavior goes against the Parliamentary system.
"Dignity of the House must be maintained. I always give you enough opportunities to speak. The House is a place for debate and discussions," said Birla before he adjourned the Lok Sabha sine die. The House was adjourned within six minutes after it convened for the day.
"With regard to the business of the House, Birla said that the Budget Session that commenced on 31 January 2023, comprising of 25 sittings, lasted for about 45 hours 55 minutes. Birla informed the House that the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's Address on 31 January 2023 lasted for 13 hours 44 minutes and 143 Members participated in the discussion," stated an official release.
Lok Sabha Speaker further added that during the Session, the Union Budget was presented by the Finance Minister on February 1, 2023 and the discussion on the General Budget lasted for 14 hours 45 minutes and 145 members participated in the debate which culminated with the Finance Minister’s reply to the discussion.
"The Demands for Grants for the financial year 2023-24 of the Ministries/Departments of the Central Government were approved by the House on 23 March, 2023 and the related appropriation bill was also passed. After that the Finance Bill was passed by the House," stated the release.
The second leg of the Budget Session witnessed several adjournments with the treasury benches and the opposition engaging in a verbal slugfest over the Adani issue and Rahul Gandhi's 'Democracy in danger' remark.
Soon after the Rajya Sabha reconvened following an adjournment in the morning session, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House that the suspension of Congress MP Rajani Ashokrao Patil for filming proceedings of the House has been extended beyond the Budget Session as per the recommendation of the Privilege Committee.
Earlier, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva and Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil sought clarifications regarding the implications of Dhankhar's decision on Wednesday rejecting Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's objection to Rajya Sabha discussing a statement of Gandhi. However, the Chairman refused to change his decision.
Later in the day, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the productivity of the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session, of 2023 was about 23 per cent while that of the Rajya Sabha was 24.4 per cent.
Speaking to reporters the MoS also said that six bills were passed both by the Upper and Lower Houses of the Parliament adding that a total of eight bills were introduced. The Finance Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023; The Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023; The Appropriation Bill, 2023 and The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 were passed and returned by both the Houses.
The bills introduced in the Lok Sabha include The Finance Bill, 2023, The Inter-services Organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023, The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2023, The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023, The Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023, The Appropriation Bill, 2023, The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 and The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Speaking to ETV Bharat regarding the issue Congress MP in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said "It was the responsibility of the ruling party to bring order in the House. We were only demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe over the Adani controversy. And instead of looking into our demands, they (Central government) raised an issue of Rahul Gandhi's Cambridge speech just to divert the attention."
Accusing the BJP government of acting like a dictator Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharya said "The government has been acting like a dictator. They neither listen to the opposition nor give any chance to the opposition parties to speak. All the bills have been passed without any consensus,"
