New Delhi:
This winter session has truly been the 'winter of discontent' in Parliament and there is no sign of a resolution to the stand-off between the Government and the Opposition.
The House approved the second batch of the supplementary demands for grants allowing the government to raise public expenditure by over Rs 45,000 crore during the current fiscal. The appropriation bill, necessary for the government to meet its expenditure for the next three months, was passed amidst Opposition slogans - 'we want a JPC'.
And if the Prime Minister lived through some anxious moments in the Rajya Sabha, in the Lower House, an equally anxious UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi watched Railways Minister Mamta Banerjee get the nod for funds for her ministry.
To help pass important budgetary allocations, the Government and the Opposition had a truce. But the two were back to disagreeing once that business was over.
Despite scams and questions from the Supreme Court fueling the Opposition's charge, the Government decided to hold its territory.
It ruled out a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), cutting short the parliament session and forcing the Chief Vigilance Commissioner to quit.
This stalemate has caused serious damage - 14 days have been wasted in disruptions and it has cost the exchequer over Rs 20 crore.