The deportation of Indians from the United States, deaths in the Maha Kumbh stampede and the joint Parliamentary committee report on the Waqf bill were among the issues that led to heated exchanges and some disruptions in an otherwise smooth first part of the Budget session that ended on Thursday.
The first part of the session started with the address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of both Houses on January 31 and was followed by the presentation of the Union budget for the 2025-26 fiscal.
The Lok Sabha clocked 112 per cent productivity in the first part.
The second part of the budget session would begin from March 10 during which the Parliamentary committees would discuss the demands for grants of various ministries.
The session that saw nine days of sitting of both Houses ended on Thursday with the tabling of the joint committee report on the Waqf Bill in both Houses amid heated exchanges between the opposition and the treasury benches.
The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed stormy scenes with the opposition trooping to the Wells of the respective Houses protesting against the committee chairman's 'undemocratic' action of redacting parts of the dissent notes.
The report of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was tabled in both Houses, saw the Lok Sabha speaker allowing the submission of dissent notes in entirety as demanded by the opposition and Home Minister Amit Shah asserting the BJP had no objection to it.
In the Rajya Sabha, BJP member Medha Kulkarni tabled the voluminous report amid protests by the opposition members. Later, she tabled a corrigendum to Appendix 5 of the report that deals with notes/minutes of dissent, prompting the opposition to claim victory.
Committee Chairman Jagdambika Pal had redacted parts of the dissent notes contending that they cast aspersions on the parliamentary panel and made personal allegations against him.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replied to the discussion on the Union budget 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, saying the government will continue to take measures to check inflation and ensure that citizens are not burdened.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier launched a scathing attack on the Congress and AAP in the Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha while replying to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
Opposition members created uproar in Lok Sabha over the "inhuman treatment" meted out to Indian deportees while pointing out to their handcuffing during the deportation, leading to disruptions in the House.
The issue of the deaths of pilgrims in a stampede in Maha Kumbh was also raised in both Houses, with opposition members creating a ruckus.
The relaxation of border norms to enable an energy park by a business house to come up at the border with Pakistan was also raised in both Houses of Parliament, with the Lok Sabha witnessing disruptions over it.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made a statement in the Upper House about the deportation of illegal immigrants from the US, saying the process is not new and has been ongoing for several years.
He added that the government is engaging with the United States to ensure that deported Indians are not mistreated.
Jaishankar made the statement later in Lok Sabha which came as opposition parties stepped up their criticism over the treatment meted out to 104 illegal Indian immigrants who landed in Amritsar in a US military plane with many deportees saying they were shackled.
While opposition parties created uproar in the Upper House, they forced repeated adjournments in the Lok Sabha over the deportation of Indians living illegally in the US. The Lok Sabha was adjourned on four occasions as opposition members raised slogans over the handcuffing of deportees.
Replying to the discussion on the Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reduced to 4.31 per cent in January from 5.22 per cent in December and is moving towards the 4 per cent target given to the Reserve Bank of India.
She replied to the discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, where she said the Indian economy is seeing a "speedy rebound" from 5.4 per cent growth clocked in the second quarter of the current fiscal, and the government shall take measures to ensure that India remains the world's fastest-growing economy.
Replying to the discussion on the motion of thanks in the Lok Sabha, the prime minister launched a spirited counter-offensive against the Opposition and excoriated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying those speaking of 'declaring a war on the Indian State' can appreciate neither Constitution nor national unity.
The PM also asked if at any point in time three members of a Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes family have served as MPs together, amid cheers from treasury benches.
In the Rajya Sabha, he attacked erstwhile Congress governments for shackling the country's economy, causing the world to coin the phrase "Hindu rate of growth" and said an entire society faced abuse and humiliation due to financial mismanagement of one family.
Delivering a scathing critique of past Congress regimes that practised 'licence-permit raj', Modi said the world is now watching the "Bharat rate of growth" with India emerging as the fastest-growing major economy.
While the Lok Sabha had kept 12 hours for the discussion on the motion of thanks and on the Union budget, the Rajya Sabha had earmarked 15 hours each for both discussions.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also introduced the Income Tax Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha on Thursday and urged Speaker Om Birla to refer it to a select committee of the House.
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