The Parliament reconvened on Thursday for the 14th day of the Monsoon Session amid continued protests by Opposition members over various issues, leading to disruptions in the Lok Sabha.
Soon after the House met, Opposition MPs raised slogans, disrupting proceedings. Speaker Om Birla appealed to members to allow the House to function, assuring them that all issues could be taken up through discussion.
“Please let the House function. We will discuss everything that you want to,” Birla told protesting members.
However, amid continued sloganeering, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm.
The disruption comes as the Opposition continues to press for discussions on issues including alleged irregularities related to Ram temple donations and alleged police action against student protesters.
In the Rajya Sabha, proceedings continued despite protests and sloganeering by Opposition members, until the house was adjourned until 12 pm.
The Upper House is scheduled to take up the Appropriation Bill, which seeks Parliament’s approval for expenditure exceeding the budget estimates during the financial year 2022-23. The Bill was already passed by the Lok Sabha and will now be considered by the Rajya Sabha.
In the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to move the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, for consideration.
The proposed legislation seeks amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, the Income-Tax Act, 2025, and the Finance Act, 2026.
The government is expected to take up a discussion on the Bill before moving it for passage.
Meanwhile, the government has begun a fresh effort to build consensus for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill during the ongoing Monsoon Session.
The Women's Reservation Bill provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from 2029, while the Delimitation Bill proposes increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha to 816 seats.
The government has reached out to the Congress and its NDA allies to seek support for the proposed legislation, nearly four months after an earlier attempt failed due to lack of adequate numbers.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday night clarified that there was no proposal to convene a special session of Parliament between August 16 and 18.
Opposition MPs continued raising slogans in the Rajya Sabha, demanding that Home Minister Amit Shah come to the House and make a statement. The protests continued despite repeated appeals from the Chair to maintain order.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hit back at Mallikarjun Kharge, saying the Leader of the Opposition cannot decide which minister should come to the House to make a statement. He said Kharge could only make a request to the Chair.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju of overlooking Rule 238A while citing parliamentary rules, asserting that MPs have the right to decide what they raise in the House. He also accused the government of insulting Congress leader Pawan Khera by naming him during proceedings.
Opposition MPs continued sloganeering as the Rajya Sabha reconvened at noon on Thursday, leading to disruptions in the House. The Chair appealed to members to allow proceedings to continue.
Opposition MPs from the INDIA bloc staged a protest at Parliament's Makar Dwar on Thursday, accusing the government of failing to act on allegations of misappropriation of Ram temple donations and police action against student protesters. The MPs carried placards, raised slogans against Home Minister Amit Shah and placed a donation box as a symbolic protest.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till noon amid slogan-shouting by the Opposition party members.
Soon after the listed papers were tabled, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan went ahead with Zero Hour proceedings, but Congress members demanded that Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge should be allowed to speak.
As the Chair called members to raise their Zero Hour mentions, Congress and members from some other Opposition parties started raising slogans on various issues.
The Chair repeatedly asked protesting members to return to their seats.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also objected to continuous protests by the Opposition.
Later, the Chair allowed Kharge to raise his point.
However, Treasury bench members objected to it and the Chair, at around 11.25 am, adjourned the proceedings till noon.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday reminded MPs that Question Hour is a crucial part of parliamentary functioning and expressed concern that it has not been allowed to run even once since the Monsoon Session began on July 20. He also accused the protesting members of "lowering the dignity" of the House by shouting slogans and "inappropriately" displaying placards.
Opposition MPs raise slogans and demanded the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in the House over the police action against student protesters on July 20. Some members were also seen displaying placards.
Members stood in silence to pay tribute to the victims.