New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hoped that the budget session of parliament that began Monday would be "peaceful and productive".

"The budget session is very crucial. (It) has to be debated, passed. We hope to bring important pieces of legislation for consideration of parliament. Our sincere hope is that this session will be peaceful and productive," Manmohan Singh said.

The prime minister stopped briefly to speak to reporters outside parliament as he walked into the Central Hall for President Pratibha Patil's joint address to both houses on the first day of the session.

The winter session was washed away by opposition protests over corruption scandals, including financial irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation, Adarsh housing, Commonwealth Games and ISRO's S-band deal.

The opposition has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum allocation, which according to the government's auditor has caused huge losses to the nation.

The government has agreed to the demand but has not specified the modalities and terms of reference of the proposed panel. The matter is likely to be discussed Tuesday after the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha takes it up Monday afternoon.