Second phase of Budget Session to begin from Mar. 9

The second phase of the Budget Session will begin on March 9 and will continue for over a month till April 12.

Both the Houses of the Parliament were adjourned earlier in the day.

The beginning of the first half of the Budget Session was marked by the President's address to a joint sitting of the upper and the lower houses of the Parliament.

Major highlights of the first phase were the presentation of the General budget merged with Railway budget on February 1 and a walkout by the Congress from the Rajya Sabha yesterday, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

The Congress, RJD and NCP staged a brief walkout from the Lok Sabha protesting against the same earlier today.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue and demanded Prime Minister Modi's apology during the zero hour, to which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan objected and said that an issue related to the Rajya Sabha cannot be raised in the Lok Sabha.

Not satisfied with it, the members of the opposition started raising slogans and later walked out.