A strident opposition once again forced parliament to adjourn sine die, four days ahead of schedule, without major debates being held as important bills were passed without discussion, forcing an anguished Lok Sabha speaker to raise questions on the "utility of our system of parliamentary democracy and its future".

The monsoon session, that began Aug 10, has lost over 42 hours due to interruptions and forced adjournments. An adamant opposition stalled the proceedings of both houses continuously for the fifth day Monday demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) over the India-US civil nuclear deal and did not allow even a debate on the deal as was scheduled.

On Monday, both houses were adjourned thrice on the JPC demand and even a listed discussion on the nuclear deal did not satisfy an angry opposition. Finally, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die at 4 p.m. and Lok Sabha at 5 p.m.

A visibly upset Speaker Somnath Chatterjee did not mince words to condemn the continued disruptions. "It has become a disease," he told MPs as they created uproar blaming each other for the early adjournment during his conclusion speech in the house.

"Parliamentary democracy can function only when there is active participation of all the sections of the house in the debates and discussions on matters of national and international importance and when the house functions with decorum and dignity," Chatterjee said in his concluding remarks before the MPs sang the national song "Vande Mataram" to signal the end of session.

Chatterjee pointed out that he had made several attempts to ensure the smooth functioning of the house. "However, in spite of my repeated earnest requests and efforts, some of the very important legislative business before the house had to be completed without discussions."

A discussion on the need for harmonious functioning of three organs of the state - legislature, judiciary and executive -, a debate on the nuclear deal, problems faced by farmers and continued rise in the prices of essential commodities and on the Rajinder Sachar committee report on Indian Muslim's poor social and economic status remained untouched due to the disruptions.

The speaker reminded the MPs that they could serve their constituents only by participating in structured discussion in parliament within the rules. "It is extremely disturbing that the highest public forum in the country has come to a standstill which has raised questions about the utility of our system of parliamentary democracy and its future."

Each MPs gets Rs.1,000 as daily allowance to be present in the house and Rs.26,000 is spent on each minute to run parliament in a day.

The opposition had been stalling the proceedings demanding a JPC, despite a categorical rejection by the government which argued that bilateral agreements need not be ratified by parliament. In all, 10 bills were passed in the Lok Sabha.

Many of the bills - including the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Bill, 2007 - were passed amid the din.

The government also introduced the long-awaited bill on the unorganised sector workers in the Rajya Sabha and passed it on to the parliamentary standing committee.

The government and the Left parties blamed the opposition for the early adjournment while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the government did not agree to formulate a JPC as it did not want parliament to run.

"It is unfortunate that the government did not agree to a JPC despite majority of the house wanting it. They joined hands with the communists to force an early adjournment," BJP's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha V.K. Malhotra told reporters in the parliament building.

"We strongly condemn the tactics by the BJP. It did not want to take a categorical position on the India-US nuclear deal and the relations between the two countries. Their demand for the JPC is a mask," Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury alleged.