Parliament functioning became a casualty of the Indo-US nuclear deal controversy on Monday as the war of words between the government and the Opposition on the issue led to the monsoon session being adjourned sine die, four days ahead of schedule.
While the NDA put the blame on the UPA, government managers said it was the continued disruption by the principal opposition which had resulted in virtually half of the session?s time being lost. Neither the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha could take up a discussion on the deal with the BJP-led Opposition refusing to back down on its demand for a joint parliamentary probe (JPC) on the issue and the government rejecting it.
The constitution of a UPA-Left committee to go into the deal added fuel to the fire with the Opposition dubbing the exercise as a ?family matter?.
In the Lower House, a visibly perturbed Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said it was ?extremely disturbing that the highest public forum in this country has almost come to a standstill which has raised questions about the utility of the parliamentary system of democracy and about its future.?