Short Budget Session ends

The Budget session of Parliament,which saw the constitution of the Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC to probe the 2G spectrum scam.

The Budget session of Parliament,which saw the constitution of the Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC to probe the 2G spectrum scam,shifting of Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha and a 300 per cent hike in MPLAD scheme funds, came to a close on Friday.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari,who had moved Question Hour from 11 am to the first hour after lunch to save it from disruptions,put a cap on speculation that he may reverse his decision. Ansari observed in his valedictory address: The Chair appreciates the cooperation in the matter8230;. Initial results have been encouraging8230; I have also received some feedback which will help fine tune the new arrangement.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar,who had tried to broker a compromise over JPC issue,observed: Considering the unfortunate logjam which the House witnessed during the previous session,the successful transaction of the business of the House in this session is a matter of satisfaction.

The sittings of the House were originally scheduled to be held in two parts,from February 21 to March 16 and again April 5 to 21. However,the parties resolved to cancel the sittings of the second part and extend the first phase to enable political leaders to campaign in the upcoming assembly elections.

There was a proposal for a 10-day session from the third week of May,but the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs,which met Friday evening,decided to recommend prorogation of Parliament. Sources indicated that the monsoon session may last a little longer to accommodate the carry-over legislative business.

The shortest budget session had a total of 23 sittings. The Lok Sabha sittings were spread over approximately 116 hours and 40 minutes. The House lost a total of 25 hours due to disruptions,it made it up by putting in 26 hours extra. The Rajya Sabha lost 20 hours and could compensate it only marginally by working for an additional 12 hours.

The session began amidst tension between the government and the BJP and,ironically,concluded with the main opposition party bailing it out by voting along the ruling coalition in a sudden voting over the introduction of the pension bill in the Lok Sabha.

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The session saw debates on a variety of issues ranging from WikiLeaks revelations,to allegations against Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal,evacuation of Indians from West Asia,radio collaring of Indian students of a university in America,killing of fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy.