Each minute of running Parl in sessions costs Rs 2.5 lakh

New Delhi, Sept 7: Each minute of running Parliament during sessions costs the exchequer Rs 2.5 lakh.

This was reminded by the government to the Opposition as the monsoon session of parliament was almost completely washed out over the controversy on coal block allocations with BJP insistent on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation.

"In one year, Parliament runs for eighty days during sessions. Each day, business in both Houses are transacted for around six hours. If we take into account the total annual expenditure on Parliament, then for each minute of running the House costs Rs 2.5 lakh," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters here. He said 77 per cent of the session's business time in Lok Sabha and 72 per cent in Rajya Sabha was lost due to disruptions in this session and asked the Opposition to realise that "enough is enough".

Bansal said Parliament will lose its relevance and significance if only disruptions take place in the House. "Parliament should not be taken to 11 Ashoka Road (BJP's headquarters here) or television studios. Allow Parliament to function in Parliament office", he said.

Taking further Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari's contention that the session will be remembered for work not done, Bansal said the washout of the session has "inflicted a wound on the body politic of India".

Minister of State for Planning Ashwini Kumar said, "lakhs of rupees of taxpayers' money have been spent on everyday in the stalled procedure of Parliament, which has not been accounted for". Dismissing as "constitutionally perverse" BJP's demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister, Kumar accused BJP of causing "incalculable damage" to institutional pillars of democracy and "disabling Parliament" to reflect the voice of the people.

PTI