New Delhi: Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till July 28 on Friday amid continuous sloganeering by Opposition members, while Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was responding to a question.
BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari, who was in the chair, announced the adjournment as protests intensified.
Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan took oath as a Rajya Sabha member in his mother tongue, Tamil.
DMK’s Rajathi, SR Sivalingam, and P Wilson also took oath as Rajya Sabha members.
Opposition MPs began sloganeering earlier in the day as the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh declined the Rule 267 notices for the Suspension of Business.
Addressing the ruckus in the house, the Deputy Chairman said, “There was a breach of decorum yesterday; some members were not in their designated seats. The rules ban interruption to any member who is speaking with the permission of the chair. It is tantamount to a breach of privilege of the house.”
Several opposition parliamentarians in the Rajya Sabha had moved Suspension of Business notices, urging a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury moved a notice under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha on Friday morning, demanding the suspension of house business to discuss the SIR exercise being carried out by the Election Commission (EC) in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh submitted a notice demanding a detailed discussion on the SIR process in Bihar, highlighting concerns over the voter list revision.
Similarly, Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan, Ashok Singh, Neeraj Dangi and Rajani Patil also gave notices under Rule 267, pressing for an immediate dialogue on the same issue.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla adjourned proceedings of the lower house till 2 PM on Friday amid sloganeering by Opposition members.
“There’s a way to register a protest. If you don’t want to run the Parliament…the house is adjourned till 2:00 PM today,” Birla said while addressing the lower house.
This comes after the opposition leaders entered the well of the Lok Sabha while holding placards.
Before adjourning, the Speaker urged the opposition members to allow the lower house to function normally. He objected to opposition members displaying banners. He said the stalemate is not good.
“Come, there will be a discussion to end the stalemate. There will also be representatives from the government…If there is disagreement, it should be expressed as per house norms,” Birla said.
The Parliament has witnessed frequent adjournments for the last four days since it began on July 21. Yesterday, the proceedings in both houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day amid protests by the opposition.
Earlier in the day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge joined the protest by MPs of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) against the ongoing SIR of voter rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The protest, which entered its fifth consecutive day, was held at Parliament’s Makar Dwar.
Several senior Congress leaders, including the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and party leader Priyanka Gandhi, also participated in the protest. The MPs marched from the Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises ahead of the start of the day’s session.
The MPs were seen carrying multiple posters and a large banner that read “SIR- Attack on Democracy.”
The India bloc MPs, at the Parliament premises, raised slogans against the Centre, chanting “Modi sarkar down down” and “Stop the attack on democracy.” The MPs also tore down the posters in a symbolic gesture of rejecting the Bihar SIR.
The opposition leaders have been demanding that the Prime Minister address both houses and the nation on crucial issues, including the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack and the ongoing SIR exercise being carried out by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
The opposition has also demanded that PM Modi respond to the repeated claims made by US President Donald Trump of initiating a “ceasefire” between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor.
This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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