NEW DELHI: As the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on Saturday, the extended Budget session of Parliament came to a close, marking the end of a politically charged and closely watched session.
The session’s finale came against the backdrop of a setback for the government, as the Constitution amendment bill aimed at implementing women’s reservation, linked to the contentious issue of delimitation, was defeated in the Lok Sabha a day earlier.
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill in the Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority. This is the first Bill of the Modi government to be defeated.
As soon as the House met at 11 am on Saturday, Speaker Om Birla read out his concluding remarks, following which he adjourned the House sine die (for an indefinite period). The session concluded with a rendition of ‘Vande Mataram.’ In a first, all six stanzas of the national song were played in the House.
The session, which was to conclude on April 2, was extended by three days from April 16 to discuss the crucial bills.
In his concluding remarks, Birla said 31 sittings were held during the session that lasted around 151 hours and 42 minutes. The productivity of the House during the session was 93%. The second half of the Budget session, which began on March 9, saw the passage of some key legislation despite opposition uproar.
The second part of the session saw the passage of the Finance Bill 2026-27 and the Demands for Grants for various ministries, apart from the Appropriation Bill, thus completing the budgetary exercise in Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replied to the discussion on the Finance Bill in both Houses.