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The winter session of Parliament is washed out thanks to the November 8`historic announcement by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on withdrawal of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination notes from circulation and the adverse impact it triggered. 

The Government appears least bothered about how it has impacted the lives a billion plus Indians. Unmindful of all of it, it has given the dose of better days ahead to the common citizens in the medium and long terms.

Friday was the last day of the winter session but only on paper. It started on a stormy note and ended up on a stormy note. The last one day that is on Thursday, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha continued to witness deadlock that began with the start of the session on November 16 over the manner in which a debate should be held on demonetisation and related aspects.

The Rajya Sabha saw sharp exchanges between Treasury and Opposition members as they tried to outshout each other over different issues, throwing the House into pandemonium.

The Opposition, led by Congress, said demonetisation along with vagaries of weather had hit the farmers and demanded farm loan waiver to give relief to them.

On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party members shouted slogans while displaying copies of a news report which claimed that some people in the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance regime had allegedly received money in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. They wanted to know who was behind the chopper scam.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the ruling side was not allowing Parliament to function, which wasâÂÂunprecedentedâÂÂ.

âÂÂIt is the ruling party which is disrupting the House… in both Houses (of Parliament), it is the ruling party which is not allowing the Parliament to function. It is for the first time in the history of independent India that the ruling party is not allowing the House to function,â he said.

Azad, who had given a notice to raise the issue of distress among farmers after demonetisation, was called by the Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien to speak but he could hardly make his submission as ruling party members created uproar.

âÂÂI have given the floor to the Leader of the Opposition. It is the convention of the House that when Leader of the Opposition or Leader of the House wish to speak, they are heard in silence,â Kurien said but BJP members did not heed.

Union ministers too interjected as Azad rose to speak with Information & Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu wanting to know what he wanted to say and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi saying the members of the ruling side want a discussion on the corruption issue.

Kurien told Naidu that Azad had given a notice to raise farmers distress and even without a notice the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the House are allowed to speak whenever they wish to speak.

To Naqvi, he said the ruling side can give a notice to raise a discussion on the issue they want, and asked Azad to make his submission.

Alleging that the Centre was anti-farmer and its policies were ruining crops, Azad said farmers are dying, their vegetables rotting and crops welting and they are not sowing seeds. Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and other states are facing grave distress and the Centre should waive off their loan, he demanded.  

Later on Friday, a Congress delegation, led by Vice President Rahul Gandhi, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed concern over the plight of farmers in Punjab and U.P., demanding waiver of loans given to farmers. 

For the record, the tenth session of the Lok Sabha held 21 sittings over 19 hours before being adjourned sine die on Friday. Nearly 92 hours were lost due to disruptions and just four government bills were passed during the winter session.”