Centre pushes Finance Bill to break Parliament logjam

In a bid to break the logjam in Parliament, an aggressive government on Tuesday pushed for the passage of the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha prompting the Opposition to accuse it of bulldozing the financial business in the House.

The government move caught the Opposition unawares leading to sharp protests as soon as the Lok Sabha convened for the day.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the proceedings till noon and then for the day, as TDP, Congress, AIADMK, TRS and Trinamool Congress members stormed the Well of the House.

"If you want to pass the Finance Bill and guillotine the Demand for Grants without a discussion, then where is the need to run Parliament?"  Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters amid speculation of a premature end to the Budget Session on Friday.

The Rajya Sabha also witnessed disruptions as the Opposition insisted on discussing the PNB scam issue under a rule that entails voting.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the government has agreed to a short duration discussion  - which does not have a provision for a vote.

The Upper House witnessed three adjournments before being adjourned for the day in the post-lunch session.

The BJP had issued a three-line whip to all its members to remain present in Parliament to ensure the completion of the budgetary exercise by Friday.

The government's insistence on completion of the financial business prompted the Opposition parties to make a dash to the Speaker to bring to her notice the "unusual" step to list the Finance Bill and the application of the guillotine without informing them.

"This shows government arrogance and unilateral move to bulldoze all the financial business without discussing them on the floor of the House," leaders of the Congress, CPM, NCP, RJD, RSP  and National Conference said in a letter to the speaker.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar hit out at the Congress for continuing to stall Parliament.

"Parliamentary democracy is not in the genes of the Congress party," Kumar said, accusing the party of going back on its word after agreeing to a short-duration discussion on the PNB scam.