Parliament must function: Cong MP Tewari slams Centre over adjournment

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday hit out at the Centre over "premature adjournment of the ongoing Budget session" and said that it is the duty of the government to make the Parliament function.

"Parliament must function. It is the duty of the Government to make it function. It would be death knell of democracy if treasury benches created disruption is utilised to prematurely adjourn budget session. Till 1970 Parliament would meet 120 days a year now it is closer to 50 days," the Congress leader said in a tweet.

Tewari's remarks came at a time when the second leg of the Budget session in both houses has been a washout mostly as both Centre and opposition creating pandemonium, prompting the Speakers to adjourn their respective houses.

Earlier on Tuesday, both houses of Parliament were adjourned after continuous disruptions to meet next on March 23.

The parliament has not been able to conduct any substantial business amid repeated logjams, with the BJP seeking an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the United Kingdom and several opposition parties seeking Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Hindenburg-Adani row.

Moreover, last week, on March 16, both the Houses of Parliament, meeting after a continuous stalling for four straight days, put together functioned for a little over five minutes before it was adjourned for the entire day.

The Lok Sabha, on March 16, worked for two minutes and 20 seconds in the pre-lunch sitting and 50 seconds in the post-lunch sitting. The Rajya Sabha on the same day functioned for one minute and 55 seconds in the morning and 40 seconds in the afternoon.

The Budget session commenced on March 13 and will conclude on April 6.