Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha lost 199.43 hours to disruption in Budget Session

Parliament witnessed the most disrupted session in Narendra Modi's second term in the just concluded Budget Session with both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha cumulatively losing 199.43 hours of proceedings to protests from Opposition and the ruling BJP.

Lok Sabha lost 96.13 hours and Rajya Sabha 103.30 hours to disruptions in the two-leg Budget Session, which ended on Thursday, as the government and the Opposition blamed each other for the impasse, mainly in the second leg when both sides refused to budge. Lok Sabha functioned 45.55 hours (34.28 per cent) and Rajya Sabha for around 31 hours (24.4 per cent).

The previous worst session during Modi 2.0 was the Monsoon Session of 2021 when Lok Sabha lost 77.48 hours and Rajya Sabha 76.25 hours. Since 2019 June, Parliament has lost 661.53 hours -- 371.35 hours in Rajya Sabha and 290.18 hours in Lok Sabha -- to disruptions though both Houses had sat beyond schedule on some days to reduce the gap.

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The ruling BJP in an unprecedented way disrupted proceedings in the second leg of the session, which started on March 13, demanding an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his 'democracy in danger' remarks in London in what was seen as a bid to counter Opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into Adani affair.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge blamed the BJP for the disruption, saying the ruling party wanted to divert attention from the Opposition demand for a JPC probe into the Adani issue and to "make one person rich".

However, Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal said, "Congress had made up its mind from the beginning that they would not allow the House to function. Against a budget which was accepted by every section of the country, they raised a baseless demand and interrupted the session."

The session was gainful for the Opposition as it brought unity among the parties though Trinamool Congress played truant over its disagreement with the demand for a JPC in Adani affair as it was favouring a Supreme Court monitored investigation.

However, Trinamool decided to keep away its differences soon after Rahul's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a defamation case. It started attending regular Opposition meetings and joint protests though its floor leaders marked their presence only through leaders down the ladder.

The Opposition also came up with innovative protests like human chain, joint march to Vijay Chowk with tricolour, unfurling a banner against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani from the first floor of Parliament and attending proceedings dressed in black. Almost the entire Opposition were together though usual suspects like BSP, BJD, YSR Congress and TDP did not join them.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said in his valedictory address that weaponising of politics by stalling functioning of Parliament is pregnant with serious consequences for our polity. "This is to the utter dislike of the people at large. In public mind we as a class are subject of disdain and ridicule. We need to reflect our track record on the anvil - expectations of the people," he added.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said, "improper conduct and behaviour of MPs are not beneficial for Parliament and nation. Some MPs do not want discussion and systematically disrupt the proceedings."