Parliament’s Budget session set to be adjourned tomorrow ahead of schedule

All the bills listed for passage in the Budget session of Parliament, as agreed by both the government and the Opposition, have been cleared.

NEW DELHI: The budget session of Parliament is set to be adjourned on Thursday, a day ahead of its original schedule. The ongoing budget session, which started on January 31, was scheduled to end on April 8, people familiar with the matter said.

The Budget session of Parliament was scheduled to be adjourned on April 8 (Reuters File Photo)

The government and the presiding officers have started consulting floor leaders of various parties over the proposal. “The session is likely to be adjourned sine die before the lunch hour,” said a person aware of the development.

The last five sessions of Parliament were also adjourned ahead of schedule.

“All the bills that were listed for passage in this session, as agreed upon by both the government and the Opposition, have been cleared. There is no major legislative agenda pending before the government in this session,” a senior parliamentarian said.

But an opposition leader added that early closure of the session will mean that the Opposition might not get a chance to discuss the fuel price hike, an issue that led to disruptions and frequent adjournments in Parliament, particularly in the Upper House, during this session.

Both Houses have cleared the all-important Finance Bill and the appropriation bills of different ministries.

The two Houses have also passed the Criminal Identification Amendment Bill that allows police to collect samples of a person’s biometric details if they have been arrested, detained or placed under preventive detention on charges that attract a jail term of seven years or more.

Parliament has also cleared the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill that aims to merge the three existing civic bodies into one municipal body.

In 2020, two sessions were abruptly curbed due to rising Covid19 cases. The pandemic also forced early closure of the budget and monsoon session of 2021. The winter session was also cut short by a day in 2021.