Why was Monsoon Session 2022 of Parliament adjourned? Know what ‘sine die’ means

The controversial and eventful Monsoon Session 2022 of the Parliament came to an end ahead of the official schedule, when the government decided to adjourn the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha sessions sine die just four days before the official date, which was August 12.

The sine die adjournment of the Parliament session this July and August comes in the backdrop of weeks of disruptions and protests caused by several opposition leaders. Two working days and two holidays for the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha sessions were left, as per the schedule.

The Centre decided to adjourn the monsoon session of the upper and lower house of the Parliament on August 9. This move was opposed greatly by opposition MPs and leaders, most of which criticized the government for cutting the sessions short.

There were a total of 16 sittings in the Lok Sabha, which lasted over 44 hours, while the total Rajya Sabha sessions – chaired by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu – lasted for a little over 39 hours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a farewell speech to the VP on his last day.

What is sine die adjournment of Parliament?

This time, the government adjourned both the houses of the Parliament – Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha – under the sine die policy of the adjournment, which means that both the houses were adjourned before the set time according to the schedule.

In clear terms, adjournment sine die is the adjournment of the Parliament without setting a day to reconvene on the meeting. Since only four days of the session were left for the upper and lower house, it means that the Monsoon Session 2022 has come to an end.

Why was the Parliament session adjourned?

Though no clear reason has been stated for the sine die adjournment of the Monsoon Session 2022, it comes in the backdrop of multiple disruptions including the 50-hour dharna against price rise, over 24 MPs suspended from the Parliament, and Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigations on key leaders.

This also comes soon after the ‘Rashtrapatni’ remark row, when Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called newly-elected President Droupadi Murmu the Rashtrapatni of the nation.

Slamming the call to adjourn the Parliament sine die, opposition leader Derek O’Brien had tweeted, “This is the seventh consecutive time Parliament session has been cut short. Stop mocking Parliament. We will fight for its sanctity and prevent PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah from turning this great institution into the Gujarat Gymkhana.”

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