LS approves demand for grants through ‘guillotine’

The bills were taken up by the Lower House after two earlier adjournments, and were introduced by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman soon after the House assembled after 6pm.

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the demands for grants for ministries and the Appropriation Bill 2023 without any discussion amid protests and disruptions that have derailed parliamentary proceedings throughout the week.

Opposition MPs stage a protest in Lok Sabha. (ANI)

The bills were taken up by the Lower House after two earlier adjournments, and were introduced by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman soon after the House assembled after 6pm.

They were guillotined – a parliamentary term which refers to the passage of a legislation without debate or discussion – and approved by voice vote amid sloganeering from the Opposition benches. The second half of the budget session has been marred by near-constant protests and disruptions due to the government demand for an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comments in the UK, and the Opposition ask for a joint parliamentary committee to probe allegations of fraud levelled at the Adani Group by American firm Hindenburg Research.

The Appropriation Bill is a money bill that authorises the government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet the expenses for its works, programmes and schemes presented as part of the budgetary expenditure for FY24. The passing of the bill also clears the government’s expenditure of about ₹ 45 trillion as provided in Budget 2023-24.

According to officials, the Finance Bill, 2023, which was presented by Sitharaman on February 1 and also contains tax proposals for FY24, is expected to be taken up by the Lok Sabha on Friday. The passing of the Appropriation Bill completes almost two-thirds of the budgetary exercise by the Lok Sabha, one official said, requesting anonymity. Both – the Appropriation Bill and the Finance Bill – are money bills, while the former deals with expense side of the Budget for a particular financial year, the later involves incomes, such as taxes and levies. “From and out of the Consolidated Fund of India there may be paid and applied sums not exceeding those specified in column 3 of the Schedule amounting in the aggregate to the sum of one hundred forty-four lakh twenty-seven thousand one hundred forty-eight crore and sixteen lakh rupees towards defraying the several charges which will come in course of payment during the financial year 2023-24 in respect of the services specified…,” the Appropriation Bill said.

The session is scheduled to end on April 6.