Parl session to end on Friday
Parliament is heading for closure of its budget session on Friday, three weeks ahead of its schedule up to April 6, as the government felt no use continuing when ruckus and disruptions in the well of both the Houses prevented the regular business for the past nine days.
The Opposition, however, accused the government of deliberately shutting down the session so early to avoid discussions on various issues including the bank fraud of Nirav Modi that was blocked by it by sponsoring daily ruckus by its allies – TDP and AIADMK.
The government wanted to push the union budget-related finance and appropriation bills in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday as passed in din in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday without debate, but the slogans in the well by TDP and AIADMK MPs in the well forced Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the House fr the day.
The Lok Sabha also remained paralysed for the ninth day on Thursday and yet Speaker Sumitra Mahajan got two Bills on gratuity and specific relief passed despite the cacophony of slogans before adjourning for the day.
The deputy chairman pleaded without success with the agitating members in the Rajya Sabha to give him just five minutes for disposal of the financial business, telling them that the responsibility of not allowing the finance bill will lie on them.
Since the finance and appropriation bills blocked by the pandemonium are the money bills that are presumed to be passed if not cleared by the Rajya Sabha within two weeks of the Lok Sabha’s nod, they will be automatically deemed to be passed even if the budget session is shortened and shut on Friday.
Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad protested at the deputy chairman talking of disposing the financial bills in five minutes that means no debate, asserting that “no Bill can be passed in the din” and not the least the most important finance bill for 2018-19 for which the session was called.
Earlier in the morning, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the House till 2 PM when the Congress members rushed into the well protesting at objectionable remarks on its previous UPA government by Y S Chaudhary of TDP in his statement in the House on why he quit the Union Ministry as a minister of state for science.
When the Rajya Sabha reassembled at 2 PM, Chaudhary wanted to complete his statement, but the deputy chairman said he had some restraints to allow him and he better approach the chairman to allow him on Friday and let him take up the short-hour discussion on “reported scams in some public-sector banks” hanging since last week. Chaudhary kept insisting to speak and his TDP members stormed the well, forcing adjournment for an hour. The House had to be adjourned for the day without even taking up the financial business because of the disruption.
Interestingly, the finance bill comes at the end after finishing discussion on the budgetary demands of the ministries, but Thursday agenda listed it ahead of the discussion on the working of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation.