Budget Session 2022: Parliament adjourned sine die

The Budget Session of Parliament was adjourned sine die on Thursday even as the Opposition accused the winding up the proceedings a day ahead of schedule to avoid a discussion on price rise and inflation.

Lok Sabha clocked productivity of 129% passing 12 Bills while Rajya Sabha had productivity of 99.80%, missing the 100% goal by 10 minutes. The Upper House passed 11 BIlls.

Rajya Sabha lost nine-and-a-half hours due to disruptions and forced adjournments but made up for the lost time by sitting extra for 9:16 hours, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said. "If only the House had functioned for 10 more minutes, the productivity would have been 100 per cent," he said.

The Budget Session had begun on January 31 with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of both the Houses followed by the Budget. The first leg of the Budget Session concluded on February 11 and resumed on March 14.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made his valedictory address at the end of the session but a protest by Opposition MPs over price rise and the alleged misappropriation of funds collected to save aircraft carrier INS Vikrant led to adjournment of the House Thursday without the customary closing remarks by the Chairman.

Opposition criticised the government for the conclusion of the Budget Session ahead of schedule, alleging that the government was running away from a discussion on price rise and inflation.

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi countered the argument and claimed, "the Opposition requested in Rajya Sabha Business Advisory to adjourn the House on April 7. I had asked them before the Chairman and they all agreed to adjourn the House due to Ram Navami and other festivals."

"Parliament has been closed two days before even though they gave the agenda for up to Friday. We feel that the government is not keen to resolve the problems of the poor, unemployed, and farmers. The government is not ready for a discussion and ended Parliament two days ahead of schedule," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the government breached its commitment as the Lok Sabha Business Advisory Committee (BAC) allocated time for a discussion on price rise and for bills in the Rajya Sabha BAC.

Congress Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh "two days was wasted as the government adjourned the House. It is a failure of the government and not ours. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal is 'missing'. We have seen Arun Jaitley and Thawar Chand Gehlot, who were both leaders of the House, and always used to be present. It is the responsibility of the Leader of the House to be present. It is for the first time I have seen that the Leader of the House is missing. The Prime Minister may have come four-five times ever since the House sat for this session," he alleged.