The winter session of Parliament adjourned sine die on Friday bringing the curtains down on one of the shortest sessions in recent years that saw issues like Nandigram and the India-United States nuclear deal marring proceedings.
With 17 sittings, the session lost much time both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as the violence at Nandigram in West Bengal emerged the main issue in the initial days relegating the nuclear deal to back burner.
A discussion on Nandigram was held in both Houses despite the initial reluctance of the Communist Party of India-Marxist to include a reference to the word "Nandigram" in the subject matter of the discussion.
The much-awaited discussion on the nuclear deal was the highlight of the brief session as both houses debated the issue.
The government sought to take credit for this with Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi describing the session as a success.
He sought to drive home the point that the nuclear discussion showed that government was neither shying away from anything nor hiding anything.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said the loss of 18 hours because of the din on Nandigram and the Indo-US nuclear agreement among other issues was more than made up by the Lower House by sitting late.
It was a similar story in the Rajya Sabha with Chairman Hamid Ansari saying the loss of 18 hours due uproar over Uttar Pradesh blasts and the Babri Masjid issue was more than made up.
© 2024 Rediff.com -