Winter session of Parliament ends early amid sparring between govt, opposition

Ruckus continued in Parliament even on the last day.

The winter session of Parliament concluded early on Friday with both houses adjourned sine die. Ruckus continued in Parliament even on the last day of the session, which began on December 7. It was scheduled to end on December 29. The clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang was among the many issues over which the opposition leaders clashed with the government over the last week, triggering disruptions. Even though Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had addressed the both houses last week over the December 9 Tawang clash, the opposition accused the Centre of not allowing a discussion on the matter. This was the first such clash along the India-China border since the June 2020 Galwan valley standoff.

Parliament. (File photo/ PTI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had accused the Congress of causing disruptions to deflect attention.

Further, the winter session ended a day after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya briefed both the houses over the preparedness for Covid amid concerns over spike in cases in China. He also gave the details on random testing at airports and underlined that cases in India continued to be low despite 5.8 lakh cases registered every day on an an average globally. On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other members of Parliament led by example as they were seen wearing masks. PM Modi also led a meeting later.

BJP leaders have also been raising objection against the Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra amid Covid surge. "Bharat Jodo Yatra has been going on for more than a month. Once again the world is hit by the Covid crisis and the government of India has taken appropriate steps, then why Congress party opposing it? Protocol is for everyone," Union Minister Anurag Thakur was quoted as saying by news agency ANI on Friday.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)