Parliament adjourns sine die after Ram Temple discussion

Today marked the last day of the interim budget session and the last working day of the Parliament till the nation heads to the polls later this year. The Rajya Sabha discussed the White Paper alleging mismanagement of the economy under the UPA government, and both Houses discussed the construction of the Ram Mandir and the consecration ceremony on January 22 in Ayodhya. Several other Opposition MPs including DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, and Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi said the Indian economy is failing and called the White Paper an “Election Paper.” AITC MP Saket Gokhale, asked the Ministry to instead release a white paper on women’s safety, parliament security and rising cases of hate speeches. Closing the debate, Chairman VP Dhankar expressed emotion at the Opposition’s treatment of Jayant Chaudhary, saying he was tempted to resign in protest, noting that as Mr. Chaudhary thanked the government for awarding the Bharat Ratna to his grandfather - late PM Chaudhary Charan Singh - several MPs told him, ‘Go wherever you want to go’, referring to the BJP-RLD alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. In his concluding remarks for the session, Mr. Dhankhar encouraged the members of the Upper House to ensure “exemplary standards of conduct.” He stated that the productivity of the House stood at 137%, and said that in addition to the discussion on Motion of Thanks and the Union Interim Budget, Rajya Sabha also passed seven bills during this session.