Lok Sabha extends budget session by one day, no question hour on Feb 10

NEW DELHI: The ongoing budget session of the Lok Sabha has been extended until Saturday, February 10, to provide sufficient time for the completion of essential items of Government Business. There will be no Question Hour session on the extended date.

As per a Lok Sabha Secretariat notification issued on Wednesday, extension of the current session of Lok Sabha, as announced by the Chair today (7.2.2024) and agreed to by the House, the current session of Lok Sabha has been extended up to Saturday, February 10, 2024, in order to provide sufficient time for completion of essential items of Government Business.

Accordingly, the Lok Sabha will sit on Saturday, February 10, 2024. There will be no Question Hour on that day, the notification read. The last session before Lok Sabha polls expected to be held in April-May this year was started with the address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of two Houses on January 31. It was earlier to be concluded on February 9. In Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar also extended the session for one day. The decision comes amid buzz over the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government presenting a 'white paper' on the economy during the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, stated that his party is prepared to address any papers the government brings to the House. "Narendra Modi has Congressphobia. We are ready to fight. The government can bring a 'White Paper', Red paper, black paper, we have no problem. However, Mehul Choksi's papers should also be presented to the House," Chowdhury told ANI.

"Why are banks being looted under the BJP government? What is their connection with those who loot banks and flee abroad? You can reach the Moon but cannot find Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi," he added.

Welcoming the idea of bringing a 'White Paper' to the House, BJP Lok Sabha MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the document is a much-awaited call and should be brought so that the public becomes aware of the corruption that occurred during the UPA tenure before 2014. "The government has passed the finance bill and the interim budget. If I recall correctly, the PM mentioned in his speech that they would present a White Paper on the mess that prevailed prior to 2014. I think it is likely to be listed tomorrow. It is a much-awaited call," Rudy told ANI.

The government announced in the Union Interim Budget presented on February 1 that it would release a 'White Paper' to compare the economic performance of the Congress-led UPA government's 10 years with that of the BJP-led NDA government's 10 years.