New Delhi: Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die Thursday, drawing curtains on a stormy Monsoon session which saw relentless protests by the opposition over police action on agitating students and alleged theft of Ram temple donations, and passage of several key bills without debate.
As soon as the House met for the day, all six stanzas of the national song were played, following which Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House sine die (for an indefinite period).
Birla did not read the usual valedictory address, in which he highlights the Lok Sabha’s performance and productivity during the session.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were present when the House met for a brief while.
During the session, Birla has repeatedly asked opposition members to participate in debate, but the opposition had continued with its protests, forcing repeated adjournments.
On Thursday too, the opposition raised slogans against the government.
The session began on July 20 and has been witnessing vociferous protest by the Opposition earlier over the NEET paper leak issue and alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Later the opposition demanded a response from Home Minister Amit Shah over the police crackdown on students at Jantar Mantar here July 20. The students were protesting against the NEET paper leak and seeking accountability in the education system.
Shah had Wednesday said he was ready for a debate and would respond to each and every query raised by the opposition and had urged the Speaker to allocate time, in consultation with the opposition to start the discussion on the students’ issue.
Though the House could not complete the Question Hour on any of the days due to opposition protests, as many as 12 bills were passed, including two earlier cleared by the Rajya Sabha.
Out of the 12 bills, debate could only take place on two, while the others were passed without a discussion.
The bill to amend the anti-paper leaks law saw an elaborate discussion lasting 10 hours. During the consideration of the bill to make insult to the national song Vande Mataram a punishable offence, only two members spoke in a symbolic debate amid noisy protests.
The Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Amendment Bill, which had become a sticking point between the government and the opposition over some of its provisions, was on Wednesday referred to a joint committee of Parliament for threadbare discussions.
The Bill was introduced in the Budget session but was not moved for consideration and passage as several religious organisations had opposed it, including those from Kerala where assembly polls were due in April.
As the opposition questioned the absence of Shah from the House proceedings, he hit back by urging Speaker Birla on Wednesday to consult the opposition for a debate on students’ protests over the NEET paper-leak issue and said he is ready to answer all questions in the House.
In a letter to the Speaker, Shah had said dialogue and discussions are the only ways to find solutions in a democracy, and he has full faith in democracy and democratic institutions.
On the penultimate day of the session, the report of a probe panel constituted by the Speaker to investigate charges of wrongdoing against Justice Yashwant Varma was tabled in Parliament.
Varma has been found guilty by a panel, with the committee saying the charges of unexplained cash, disturbing evidence and evasive explanation against him “are proved”.
In view of this, the government may go ahead with the impeachment (removal by Parliament) process against the judge in the Winter session of Parliament, sources said.
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