Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha prorogued

The two houses of Parliament, which were adjourned sine die on Friday after a turbulent Winter Session, have been prorogued by President Pranab Mukherjee, officials said on Monday.

Officials from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariat said the two houses were prorogued on Sunday.

A sine die adjournment means adjourning the sittings of the house for an uncertain period, while being prorogued formally ends a session. The next session will now need to have a fresh permission from the President.

The government has been considering calling a special session to get bills related to Goods and Services Tax passed. However, the extension of the winter session was ruled out.

The Budget session next year is set to be called at least a month earlier than usual, with government sources indicating it will start by January end.

Parliament was adjourned sine die on Friday as the winter session that began on November 16 ended in an almost washout.

The Chairs of both houses made it a point to express their displeasure at this as no significant business could be transacted during the 21 sittings.

The Lok Sabha could transact just 17.39 per cent of its scheduled business in the 19 hours that it worked, while the Rajya Sabha transacted 20.61 per cent of the listed business in its 22 working hours.

--IANS

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