New Delhi | Curtains came down on Saturday on a stormy budget session of Parliament that witnessed several firsts under the Modi government including the defeat of a crucial Constitution amendment bill that was brought to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 by raising the Lok Sabha strength.

With the key bill failing to get through, no business was taken up on the last day of the three-day special sitting during the session to consider the women's quota legislation, and both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die within minutes of their meeting this morning.

The session, which began on January 28, saw the passage of the Union budget for 2026-27 and the demands for grants and supplementary grants for various ministries.

The session also saw the passage of some key legislations including The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, The Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026 and The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to make Amaravati as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, was not taken up by the government during the session, following strong objections from the opposition. The Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was sent to the parliamentary committee for further scrutiny.

While the Lok Sabha clocked 93 per cent productivity, the Rajya Sabha witnessed 110 per cent productivity during the budget session.

The session saw many firsts under the Modi government. Besides the Constitution amendment bill on 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures failing to get parliamentary nod, the opposition, for the first time, gave a notice for the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner.

The Prime Minister Modi also could not reply to the motion of thanks to the president's address, amid opposition protests. A notice of motion against Speaker Om Birla was defeated on the floor and a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha was elected as the deputy chairman.

The tumultuous session saw repeated acrimony between the treasury benches and the opposition in both houses. The opposition vocally registered its protest on several issues and staged walkouts while disagreeing with the government on the passage of key legislation.

Trouble started during the first part of the budget session when Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to cite excerpts from an unpublished book of a former Chief of Army Staff, leading to uproarious scenes.

This led to the suspension of eight Opposition MPs -- seven from the Congress and one from CPI(M) -- for the entire budget session. However, the suspensions were revoked later during the second part of the session.

Amid allegations that some women MPs of the Opposition could create "unpleasant scenes", Speaker Om Birla asked Prime Minister Modi not to come to the house to reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

Following this, the entire opposition gave a notice to move a motion to remove Speaker Birla from his post, but it was defeated by a voice vote after a debate.

An opposition notice to remove Gyanesh Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner was rejected by the Speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman C P Radhakrishnan.

During the session, the opposition demanded a discussion on the West Asia crisis and the shortage of LPG in the country. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made statements in Parliament on the issue.

The session, which was to conclude on April 2, was extended by three days from April 16 to discuss the crucial bills on women's quota.

However, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated on Friday, with the ruling NDA asserting that the struggle to give the rights to women would continue.

This was the first time during the current NDA government that a constitution amendment bill was defeated.

While 298 members voted in support of the Bill in the Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.

According to the Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.

On Saturday, the last day of the session, Speaker Birla said 31 sittings were held during the session that lasted around 151 hours and 42 minutes.

The productivity of the House during the session was 93 per cent.

Radhakrishnan, in his remarks, said he was deeply appreciative of the valuable perspectives that enriched the discussions in the House, and underlined that the Budget Session holds the place of primacy as the most consequential in shaping the nation's growth trajectory.

The Upper House functioned for 157 hours and 40 minutes, achieving a productivity of around 110 per cent during the session.

The Chairman also highlighted that during the special three-day sitting of the House from April 16 to 18, it elected Harivansh as the Deputy Chairman.

"Among the three sessions of Parliament, the Budget Session holds the place of primacy. It is not only the longest of all three sessions but also the most consequential in shaping the nation's growth trajectory. The budgetary allocations approved, the policies endorsed, and the priorities affirmed during this session have a direct bearing on the life of every citizen of Bharat," Radhakrishnan said.

Overall, the House functioned for a total of 157 hours and 40 minutes. "The productivity of this session stood at 109.87 per cent. During the session, we had the opportunity to raise 117 questions, 446 zero-hour submissions and 207 special mentions," Radhakrishnan said.

Harivansh, now a nominated member, was re-elected for the third consecutive term as deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha.

The session concluded with a rendition of 'Vande Mataram'. In another first, all six stanzas of the national song were played in the House.

The government has mandated singing of all six stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' at official functions, public events and in school assemblies.