The third day of the Monsoon Session began on a tense note Wednesday, with both Houses of Parliament first adjourned till noon and later till 2 pm, amid uproar by Opposition MPs demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls in Bihar and other key issues.
Before proceedings began, Opposition members, including Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, staged protests within the Parliament premises.
Notably, the Parliament was similarly disrupted on Monday and Tuesday, with vociferous Opposition protests leading to a complete washout of proceedings in both Houses on the first two days of the session.
Parliament witnessed repeated disruptions on Tuesday as Opposition members staged protests in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, resulting in a complete washout of proceedings on the third day of the Monsoon session.
The day began with the Rajya Sabha being adjourned shortly after it convened, amid protests over the SIR. Deputy Chairman Harivansh made a brief reference to the vacancy in the Vice President’s office, citing constitutional provisions. When the House reconvened at noon, BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari informed members that the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a notification regarding Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation.
In the Lok Sabha, Opposition MPs carrying placards entered the Well of the House around 11 a.m., raising slogans and demanding a rollback of the SIR. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urged members to allow the Question Hour, but Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House till noon. Further adjournments followed at 2 p.m. and again for the day as the protests continued.
The Rajya Sabha also saw two adjournments before being adjourned for the day without conducting any business.
On Monday, the Monsoon session began on a stormy note as the opposition forced repeated adjournments in the Lok Sabha, demanding an immediate discussion on Operation Sindoor and other issues, while the Rajya Sabha set in motion the process for Justice Yashwant Varma's removal over burnt wads of cash found at his residence here.
The third day of the Monsoon Session got off to a tense start on Wednesday, with Opposition MPs, including Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, staging protests within the Parliament premises. The demonstrations were against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
This comes after both Houses faced repeated adjournments on the first two days over the Opposition's demands for a debate on the SIR exercise, Operation Sindoor, and other key issues.
The Lok Sabha session began with Opposition MPs raising slogans demanding discussion on the special revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and Operation Sindoor among other issues. The protests prompted Speaker Om Birla to urge members to maintain decorum, but as the uproar continued, he adjourned the House till 12 noon.
The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned till 12 noon after Opposition members disrupted proceedings, demanding a discussion on the special revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien on Wednesday criticised the government for the disruption of Parliament proceedings, claiming that the Union government is the “biggest beneficiary” when Parliament does not function.
In a post on X, the TMC's Rajya Sabha floor leader said, “Two days of Parliament were washed out by the Union government. When Parliament doesn't function, who benefits? Government in power. Government accountable to Parliament; Parliament accountable to people. When Parliament is dysfunctional, the government is accountable to no one.”
O'Brien shared a link to a blog post in which he explained that the Monsoon Session is scheduled for a total of 190 hours, 70% of which is allocated for government business. He said Opposition MPs contribute around half the questions for Question Hour and notices for Zero Hour, giving them 31 hours to raise matters of public interest.
He suggested that “four hours must be reserved each week, in each House, to allow discussions on matters of urgent public importance,” and an additional two hours for a Calling Attention motion. This would revise the allocation to 117 hours for government business and 49 hours for the Opposition, a model he said would be “a much fairer system.”
Trinamool Congress MPs have submitted notices in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, demanding discussion on the alleged discrimination against Bengali-speaking migrants in different states and the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, said a source on Wednesday.
According to the source, Trinamool MPs have submitted notices in both Houses, demanding a short discussion on the situation being faced by Bengali-speaking migrants in different states.
Notices have also been given to take up discussion on the issue of Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll, which is currently ongoing in Bihar and is to be extended to other states.
Proceedings in both Houses of Parliament continued to face disruptions on the third day of the Monsoon Session, prompting multiple adjournments.
In the Lok Sabha, the House was adjourned till 2 pm amid noisy protests by Opposition members demanding a discussion on the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Similarly, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm following an uproar by Opposition members over the same issue.