NEW DELHI: Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Friday, one sitting ahead of the scheduled August 12 end of the Budget session.
The current session of Parliament was scheduled to end on August 12 but Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House sine die (for an indefinite period). The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned sine die on Friday. During the session, the Finance Bill was passed.
A Bill to amend the Waqf law was also introduced and referred to a joint committee of Parliament amid protests over its provisions. Birla said the productivity of the House was above 130 per cent.
The proceedings were conducted for about 115 hours, the Speaker added. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said: “In its 265th session, the Rajya Sabha had the rare distinction of a seventh Budget in a row from the first full-time woman Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for a government that is continually in its third term after six decades.”
He said the House had insightful discussion on the Union Budget that lasted for 21 hours 48 minutes. Dhankhar highlighted that the House functioned for 90 hours and 35 minutes.
He noted that the Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar made a statement in the House on the situation in Bangladesh. “I am reiterating, it is with deep concern that I urge members to engage in introspection so that we use this platform for furthering public course and are able to contribute optimally,” he said.