The Monsoon Session of Parliament saw prolonged disruptions and repeated sloganeering, leaving little room for debate and reducing the functioning of both Houses to one of their lowest levels in several years.
The government squarely put the blame on the Opposition, mainly the Congress, while the other side held the ruling dispensation responsible for the session-long deadlock and said it was "unprecedented" that neither the prime minister nor the home minister attended the proceedings even once.
While Lok Sabha recorded 19 per cent business, it was 39 per cent in case of Rajya Sabha during the 25-day session, which concluded on Thursday.
While Speaker Om Birla did not read out the usual valedictory address in which he highlights the performance and productivity of the House, Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan expressed "deep concern" over disruptions that "derailed" the business of the Upper House during the session.
The session witnessed acrimonious scenes and sloganeering by the opposition parties which led to daily disruption of proceedings in both Houses as the issue of police action against the students' protests and the alleged theft of donations at Ram temple in Ayodhya reverberated through the four-week period.
Protests by the opposition at the main entrance of Parliament House were witnessed almost daily with the ruling NDA MPs also protesting at the same venue and both sides coming face-to-face in at least two occasions.
In the midst of the session, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister following mounting pressure from agitating students.
The Congress, the Trinamool Congress, and the Samajwadi Party boycotted the customary tea party hosted by Birla after the House was adjourned sine die. Only DMK leader Kanimozhi attended the traditional get-together.
In Rajya Sabha, however, opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi, attended the tea party hosted by the chairman.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and several other senior leaders and ministers were present at the tea party in the Speaker's chamber.
As soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, all six stanzas of the national song were played following which Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House sine die (for an indefinite period).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were present when the House met for a brief while.
During the session, Birla has repeatedly asked opposition members to participate in debate, but the opposition had continued with its protests, forcing repeated adjournments.
On Thursday too, the opposition raised slogans against the government.
The session began on July 20 and has been witnessing vociferous protest by the Opposition earlier over the NEET paper leak issue and alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Later the opposition demanded a response from Home Minister Amit Shah over the police crackdown on students at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on July 20. The students were protesting against the NEET paper leak and seeking accountability in the education system.
Shah had on Wednesday said he was ready for a debate and would respond to each and every query raised by the opposition and had urged the Speaker to allocate time in consultations with the opposition to start the discussion on students' issue.
As many as 12 bills were passed each in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session, but only one -- the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 or anti-paper leak legislation -- saw discussions in both Houses.
The bill to amend the anti-paper leaks law saw an elaborate discussion lasting 10 hours. During the consideration of the bill to make insult to national song Vanda Mataram a punishable offence, only two members spoke in a symbolic debate amid noisy protests.
The Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Amendment Bill, which had become a sticking point between the government and the opposition over some of its provisions, was on Wednesday referred to a joint committee of Parliament for threadbare discussions.
The Bill was introduced in the Budget session but was not moved for consideration and passage as several religious organisations had opposed it, including those from Kerala where assembly polls were due in April.
As the opposition questioned the absence of Shah from the House proceedings, he hit back by urging Speaker Birla on Wednesday to consult the opposition for a debate on students' protests over the NEET paper-leak issue and said he is ready to answer all questions in the House.
In a letter to the speaker, Shah had said dialogue and discussions are the only ways to find solutions in a democracy and he has full faith in democracy and democratic institutions.
On the penultimate day of the session, the report of a probe panel constituted by the Speaker to investigate charges of wrong doing against Justice Yashwant Varma was tabled in Parliament.
Varma has been found guilty by a panel with the committee saying the charges of unexplained cash, disturbing evidence and evasive explanation against him "are proved".
In view of this, the government may go ahead with the impeachment (removal by Parliament) process against the judge in the Winter session of Parliament, sources said.
(With inputs from PTI)