Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die after the opposition created a ruckus over various issues.

New Delhi: Both houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Wednesday, two days ahead of schedule.

The Budget Session, which started on February 21, was in recess March 22-April 22, and was scheduled to end on May 10. However, as the second half of the session was marred by protests, failing to transact much business. The two houses were first adjourned till noon, within minutes of assembling at 11 am, as the BJP once again raised its pitch, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and two ministers. The scene was the same when the Lok Sabha assembled at noon. Following this, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house sine die. In the Rajya Sabha, though there was a ruckus at noon as well, peace was restored to bid farewell to members who are retiring soon. Chairman Hamid Ansari also asked the members to introspect if the balance between deliberation, legislation and accountability had been lost due to regular disruption of the proceedings. He also did not give an account of the work done by the upper house, as is the routine practice, saying this was in the "public domain". "Work done and not done is in the public domain, there is no need for a commentary on the experience," Ansari said. "Two, has the time not come to bridge the the growing gap between the rule of procedures and the need felt by different sections of the house to voice opinion on matters of concern? This, needless to say, has to be done in an orderly manner to preserve the dignity of the house,” Ansari added. “Has the membership of this august body assessed the impact of disruptive behaviour on public opinion?” The second half of the budget session hardly saw any transaction of business, with the opposition creating a ruckus and demanding resignation of the prime minister, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. The opposition has alleged that the Prime Minister is responsible for misappropriation in the allocation of coal blocks. While Bansal`s nephew was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly taking a bribe for the appointment of a member of the Railway Board, Ashwani Kumar has come under attack in the Supreme Court for vetting the CBI report on coal blocks` allocation. IANS