The Members of Parliament (MPs) from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday staged protest against the Congress party for disrupting Parliament.
They assembled in front of the Parliament as the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die.
The second half of the Budget Session was literally washed out due to continuous disruption by the Congress and other Opposition parties over several issues.
The BJP MPs were carrying placards that blamed the Congress for disrupting the Budget Session.
Talking to media, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said, "BJP works for connecting people, Congress works for dividing people. Congress indulges in divisive, negative politics. "
He added that the BJP will sit in protest against the Congress' negative attitude.
"The Congress did not let the House function. We'll sit in protest against the negative attitude of Congress during last 23 days," Kumar said.
Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister Office Jitendra Singh said people of this country have not taken Congress' behaviour in the parliament lightly.
"Entire session got washed out. People of this country have not taken it kindly. We have failed to live up to the expectations of the people because of a handful of people," Singh said.
On Thursday, MPs of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) decided to forego their salaries for the 23 days of the ongoing Budget Session when Parliament did not function because of protests by the Congress and other political parties.
The Opposition parties regularly created ruckus in the Parliament demanding a debate on issues pertaining to the Cauvery Management Board, promise of special category status to Andhra Pradesh, bank frauds of hundreds of crores, CBSE paper leak, "dilution" of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the sealing drive in Delhi.
The Opposition parties also staged a protest a protest near the Gandhi statue outside Parliament on Thursday and held the government responsible for disruption of the Parliament. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi also participated in the protest.
The first half of the session was held from 31 January to 9 February and after a month-long recess the second half of the session began on 9 March. During the session till now, the Lok Sabha has passed 21 bills and the Rajya Sabha 14 bills. They include the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, The Mental Health Care Bill, The Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Bill, The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and the crucial four supporting bills for the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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