39-member JPC formed on bills for simultaneous polls

A bitter winter session of Parliament, marked by acrimony between the government and Opposition, protests and counter protests over Union home minister Amit Shah's comment on BR Ambedkar, the first attempt in Independent India to remove the vice-president, a landmark debate on 75 years of the Constitution, and ugly scenes that led to a flurry of police complaints and privilege notices, closed on Friday.

- Saubhadra Chatterji and Smriti Kak Ramachandran

NEW DELHI:

The session also recorded the introduction of two landmark bills on simultaneous polls, which were referred to a 39-member Joint Parliament Committee (JPC). The JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) bill, set up in August, was also given an extension.

The final day of the winter session saw protests by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at Parliament complex against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and a counter protest march by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) from Vijay Chowk to Parliament over Shah's remarks on Ambedkar earlier this week.