New Delhi, Feb 11 : Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh on Friday said the Upper House did not witness any forced adjournment during the first part of the budget session, and it functioned nearly half-an-hour more than the scheduled sitting time. He also said that the Members could not only participate effectively in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President Address and on the General discussion on Budget but also were able to raise 51 Starred Questions, 71 Zero Hour Submissions and about 50 Special Mentions. "Just before we adjourn for a long recess, on behalf of the Honourable Chairman and on my own behalf, I would like to express our happiness over the manner in which proceedings of this august House took place during the first part of the Budget Session," he said. "I compliment all sections of this august House for effective functioning of the House in a very positive way during this part of the Budget Session and hope that we continue to be guided with the same spirit in the future," he added. The 256th Session of Rajya Sabha (Budget Session) began on January 31 with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to both the Houses and the General Budget 2022-23 was presented on February 1. The Upper House discussed the Motion of Thanks on the President's address and the general discussion on the Budget during the first part of this session which concluded on Friday. The House will be summoned again on March 14, 2022 for the second part of the session to enable the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees to consider the Demands for Grants relating to Ministries/Departments and prepare their reports. The second part of the session is scheduled to conclude on April 8. /IANS