Parliament rings closing bell for Budget Session; Waqf Bill highlight for BJP, return of unity for Opposition

New Delhi: Parliament on Friday rang the final bell for its Budget Session that marked the passage of a contentious bill on Waqf, considered one of the important legislations of Modi 3.0, and the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. finding unity in purpose after surviving tumultuous months of trouble following electoral reverses post Lok Sabha polls.

Over a dozen Bills were passed in both Houses and Budget got cleared without trouble, while the Parliament recorded a nearly 120 per cent productivity even as no discussions were held on free and fair elections, including on duplicate voter ID cards, and delimitation despite repeated demands by the Opposition.

The Opposition was “upset” with the way Parliament was run, as their demands for debates were not met and its top leaders facing the heat from the Chair, prompting the Congress to allege that the House was “slowly turning” into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “darbar”. They had also protested against taking up the approval of President’s Rule in Manipur during early hours.

Lok Sabha saw 118 per cent productivity and Rajya Sabha's was 119 per cent. Rajya Sabha also created a record on April 3 when it sat for 17:02 hours without any disruption – the sitting which started at 11 am on Thursday ended at 4:02 am the next day – during which the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed. Lok Sabha also created a record on the same day when the Zero Hour lasted nearly five hours, giving platform to 202 MPs to raise issues of public importance.

For the ruling BJP, the highpoint was the passage of the Waqf Bill after holding long debates -- nearly 13:50 hours in Lok Sabha and 13.32 hours in Rajya Sabha, including voting. In Lok Sabha, the Bill was passed by a 288-232 vote and in Rajya Sabha, it was 125-95.

Despite losing the vote on the Bill, the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was upbeat as it managed to hold on to its numbers in both Houses while bringing some fence-sitting parties to their side. BJP suffered a setback as its potential ally in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK, voted against the Waqf Bill in Rajya Sabha, while five out of seven BJD MPs voted with the Opposition despite being allowed a conscience vote.

The Winter Session in November-December last year had witnessed trouble in the I.N.D.I.A. with Trinamool Congress staking claim for bloc's leadership and Samajwadi Party refusing to join hands with Congress for joint protests on Adani issue. However, an informal route was employed for floor coordination, which culminated in a formal meeting before the Waqf Bill came to Parliament.

A confrontation was brewing between Speaker Om Birla and the Opposition, especially Congress, after he found fault with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and asking him to follow the rules to uphold the dignity of the House, in apparent reference to his show of affection to his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra inside the House. On Friday, Birla also took exception to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi saying that the Waqf Bill was "bulldozed through" in the House.