The winter session of Parliament ended on a tumultuous note on Friday with both Houses adjourned sine die (indefinitely) amid no signs of rapprochement in the bitter confrontation between the Opposition and Treasury benches over the alleged insult to Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar.

On the final day, both sides engaged in separate protests, hurling accusations at each other. The Opposition staged a march from Vijay Chowk to Parliament demanding the resignation of home minister Amit Shah for allegedly insulting Ambedkar. The ruling NDA members protested on Parliament premises, accusing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of “gundagardi (hooliganism)” and demanding an apology for allegedly pushing and injuring their members. A woman MP of the BJP from Nagaland has accused Rahul of “misbehaviour”.

Both Houses witnessed uproar ahead of the adjournment as Opposition MPs shouted slogans of “Jai Bhim” and demanded Shah’s resignation. The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die within minutes of assembling for the day, as Speaker Om Birla warned MPs against staging protests at any of the Parliament gates.

“I urge the members again to maintain the dignity of Parliament and not hold protests at any gate or anywhere on the Parliament premises…. Else, this House will have to take adequate action,” Birla told the House amid the din.

A resolution to refer the “one nation, one election” bills to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) was adopted amid the din. The JPC has 39 members — 27 from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha. The chairman of the panel hasn’t been announced yet. The BJP members on Thursday flouted the Speaker’s ruling of holding protests outside the main entrance (Makar Dwar) of Parliament, which led to a face-off with the Opposition members led by Rahul.

Similar slogan shouting and protests against the home minister was seen in the Rajya Sabha. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar told the House that “persistent disruptions are steadily eroding public trust in our democratic institutions”. The Upper House was also adjourned sine die.

The winter session of Parliament, which started on November 25, witnessed repeated confrontations between the Treasury and Opposition benches. At the start of the session, the Opposition resorted to uproarious protests over a range of issues — from the bribery charges against Adani in the US to the violence in Sambhal. The ruling BJP countered with allegations of links between the Congress and Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros.

The Rajya Sabha witnessed the submission of a no-confidence motion against Dhankhar over the “partisan” way in which he was running the House. In a rare show of unity, Opposition parties held a media conference alleging that Dhankhar was acting as a government spokesperson.

The only time Parliament functioned was during the two-day discussion in both Houses on the “glorious 75-year journey of the Constitution”. The discussion, however, sharpened the confrontation with the Opposition seizing on Shah’s remarks in the Rajya Sabha on Ambedkar.

Speaking to reporters on the Parliament premises, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the scuffle near Makar Dwar on Thursday was part of the BJP’s “planned model to distract the attention of the nation from the insult to Ambedkar”.

“This government is scared. This government is scared to discuss the Adani issue. It is scared of having any discussion because they know that their true sentiments for Ambedkarji will come out,” Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told reporters. She slammed the BJP for “lodging false FIRs” against her brother Rahul. “Rahulji can never push anyone. I am his sister, I know him. He can never do such a thing,” Priyanka said.

A report by PRS Legislative Research said that during the winter session, Parliament functioned for about half its scheduled time. The Lok Sabha functioned for 52 per cent of its scheduled time and the Rajya Sabha 39 per cent.