Budget Session of Parliament adjourned again: 10 successive days wasted as protests, adjournments become common

The Budget Session of Parliament is proving rather unproductive, with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, the no-confidence motion being considered by Andhra Pradesh regional parties, dispute over the Cauvery river water sharing, and the deaths of 39 Indians in Mosul at the hands of the Islamic State derailing proceedings for 10 consecutive days.

Bihar MPs have been protesting in Parliament to demand special status for the state. PTI

On Thursday, the two Houses of Parliament cumulatively met for less than 15 minutes, as repeated sloganeering and protests forced yet another adjournment.

It was the eighth successive day in which less than an hour of work was accomplished by the two Houses of Parliament. In fact, the second half of the Budget Session has seen only one day when Parliament managed to cross the one-hour mark: On 8 March, when thanks to the Rajya Sabha, it worked for 1.27 hours.

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The Budget Session was split into two halves this year, with the first part to deal with the Union Budget, which was presented on 1 February, and the second part that started from 5 March. It is scheduled to end on 2 April.

But while the first part of Budget Session passed without much drama, the second part has been fraught with tension, with various regional parties accusing the BJP-led Centre of not paying heed to their demands.

Following is the detailed breakdown of minutes spent by the two Houses of Parliament in the second part of the Budget Session:

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