Parliament adjourned sine die on Thursday after concluding its Budget Session which was marked by acrimonious exchanges between the Government and the Opposition, and without any detailed discussion on demands for grants under the Union Budget, 2023-24.

The Budget Session began on 31^st January with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to a joint sitting of Parliament and concluded its first part on 13^th February after discussions on the Motion of Thanks to the President and a General Discussion on the Budget.

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The second part of the Session began on 13 March and concluded on Thursday without any detailed discussions on the Budget proposals or the Finance Bill, 2023 that contained taxation proposals for 2023-24.

In his valedictory remarks, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the productivity of the House during the first part of the session was 83.80 per cent, while it was just 5.29 per cent in the second part.

The overall productivity of the session was 34.85 per cent, signifying loss of consideration work due to disruptions and early adjournments. Mr Birla said conduct of a few MPs was not “proper” during the session.

Conveying a similar picture, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said productivity of the House in the first part of the Session was 56.3 per cent, while it “plummeted to an abysmal 6.4 per cent” in the second part. Cumulatively, the House productivity was only 24.4 per cent, he said.

Even as the Chairman was going through the listed business, Tiruchi Siva (DMK) tried to seek clarifications on the Chairman’s ruling in which Dhankhar had rejected Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s contentions on whether Rajya Sabha members can discuss statements by a Lok Sabha member.

The Chairman said there could be no point of order on a ruling given by him. Still Siva was heard by the House as he referred to a few Rules. The DMK member received some support from the Congress members, who however became restless as Leader of the House Piyush Goyal tried to intervene.

Dhankhar said he had only fortified the right of expression of members of the Rajya Sabha by his ruling. The Chairman could not go further as there was disturbance. He then announced the suspension of Congress member Rajani Patil was being extended till the receipt of the report by the Privileges Committee which was examining a complaint against her.

The Congress member was suspended on 10^th February during the first part of the session and the suspension was to conclude at the end of the Session. As the Chairman made the announcement, the Congress members walked into the well of the House, shouting slogans.

Mr Dhankhar made his valedictory remarks in the noise created by non-stop shouting of the slogans. He said “the hallowed precincts of the Parliament are for discussions and deliberations, debates and decisions for the holistic welfare of the people.”

“How ironical disorder in Parliament is turning out to be the new Order — a new norm that decimates the essence of democracy. How worrisome and alarming! Paramountcy of debate, dialogue, deliberation and discussion in Parliament has yielded to disruption and disturbance,” he said.

“Weaponising of politics by stalling functioning of Parliament is pregnant with serious consequences for our polity. We need to reflect our track record on the anvil- expectations of the people,” he said.