Monsoon session over, both Houses adjourned

NEW DELHI: Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Friday, one sitting ahead of the scheduled end of the session. The Budget session, which began on July 22, was scheduled to end on August 12. When the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned, the Opposition criticised the move, saying it was not a “good practice”.

Delivering a valedictory address after the second session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said the productivity of the House was 136 per cent and 15 sittings were held, which lasted for 115 hours.

While Congress MP Manickam Tagore said adjourning both the Houses sine die is not a “good practice”, TMC MP Derek Obrien opined, “For the 11th time, a skittish Modi government has cut Parliament session short. After being out-debated on every subject, including the Budget, Modi’s NDA runs away from Parliament.”

The government introduced 12 Bills, of which four were passed in Lok Sabha — the Finance Bill, Appropriation Bill, Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, and Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024.

“After many years, neither the Budget session nor the entire Parliament session was washed out for a single day, and we saw very good business transactions in both Houses, with active participation of the members,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.