Passage of Finance Bill, Appropriation Bill in 35 minutes leads to adjournment of Houses after slogan shouting for eighth day
Amidst noisy protests by the Opposition, the lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Finance Bill 2018 and a Rs89.25 lakh-crore spending plan for the next fiscal year without discussion – a first in recent years–leading to the adjournment of both the Houses of Parliament for the eighth day.
The Finance Bill as well as the Appropriation Bill were passed in a matter of 35 minute during which opposition parties and ruling NDA ally TDP shouted slogans and created a din. The lower House was adjourned for the day by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan immediately thereafter.
Applying the guillotine process, the Bill was passed without any discussion as the opposition continued to disrupt the proceedings for the eighth day. The guillotine allows for a vote on demands for grants, whether discussed or not, once the time frame allotted for the discussion is over due to ongoing political issues.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved 21 amendments to the Bill containing taxation proposals for 2018-19, which were approved by voice vote. So was the Appropriation Bill which detailed spending plans for 99 Government ministries and departments.
With this, the Parliamentary approval for the Modi Government’s fifth and final Budget is complete in lok Sabha. The finance bill was passed after house resumed proceedings at 1200 hrs following first adjournment in the morning.
It is, perhaps, for the first time in recent years that the lok Sabha had not discussed and voted even a single ministry’s demand for grants (spending plan). In the recent past, Union budgets were passed without discussion in 2013-14 and 2003-04 when, like on Wednesday, all demands were guillotined.
Neither the lok Sabha, nor the Rajya Sabha have transacted any substantial business since the second leg of the budget session that began on March 5. Earlier in the day, Congress, Trinamool, DMK, RJD, SP, left, NCP among others had submitted a memorandum to the Speaker , objecting to what it termed was government’s “arrogance and unilateral move to bulldoze all financial business without discussing them in the House”.
As government forced its way in the lower house, opposition parties cried foul over the move with Congress, NCP and TMC staging a walkout while the Telgu parties - TDP, TRS and YSR-Congress were in the well shouting slogans and showing placards.
Opposition and TDP and AIADMK raised slogans on various issues including against the passage of the budget without debate, the Rs12,700 crore PNB banking scam, special status to Andhra Pradesh and setting up of Cauvery Management Board for river water sharing by riparian states.
Samajwadi Party too was in the well of the house protesting clamp down on the media during the counting of votes for Gorakhpur lok Sabha bypoll.
The Rajya Sabha, which was informed of the passage of the budget by the lok Sabha at 2 PM, was also adjourned for the day within about three minutes thereafter.
After passage of the finance and appropriation bills in the lok Sabha, both these legislations have to go to Rajya Sabha for passage. However, since these are money bills, they would be considered approved, if the Upper House does not return them to the lower House within 14 days.The Opposition has an upper hand in the Rajya Sabha. The proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were also washed out for the eighth straight day on Wednesday , amid uproar by the opposition and NDA partner TDP over the same issues.