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 .
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 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.
According to PTI, 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.
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.
