Both the Upper House and the Lower House of Parliament were adjourned for the day.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned as a mark of respect after the death of sitting MP and JMM supremo Shibu Soren, while the Lok Sabha was adjourned amid continuous protests by the Opposition demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Soren, a five-time Lok Sabha MP and three-time Jharkhand Chief Minister, passed away at the age of 81. He had also served as Union Coal Minister under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and was elected to the Rajya Sabha in June 2020.
Deputy Chairman Harivansh read out the obituary reference, and members stood in silence to pay their respects before the House was adjourned. No official business was taken up.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha witnessed another day of noisy protests led by the Opposition, demanding a discussion on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the state elections.
When the House met at 2 pm, Opposition MPs, including those from the Congress, stood up with placards and raised slogans.
Jagadambika Pal, who was chairing the proceedings, reminded the Opposition that not a single bill had been passed since the Monsoon Session began on July 21 due to repeated disruptions, following which he adjourned the House till 11 am on August 5.
Earlier in the day, speaker Om Birla said he has been trying every day to run the House smoothly, but protesting members are systematically disrupting proceedings of the House.
"You have been elected by lakhs of people to represent their hopes and aspirations and raise their issues. But you are not interested in allowing the House to function smoothly. You are lowering the dignity of the House by systematically obstructing the proceedings and by showing placards," he said.
He urged MPs to raise their issues directly with him and allow Question Hour to proceed.
"I will give each of you enough time to raise your issues like I did in the past, but please allow the House to run," Birla said.
Despite his appeal, the disruptions continued, forcing him to adjourn the House till 2 pm.
Amid the Opposition protest, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also criticised the Opposition for pausing proceedings.
"Looking at the state of affairs in the House today, I am sad," he said.
He added that the National Sports Governance Bill and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill had been scheduled for discussion at the Opposition’s request, and the Sports Minister was prepared for the debate.
"You not only don’t say what you want to say, but also waste the time of the House," Rijiju remarked.
Since the Monsoon Session began on July 21, Parliament has seen repeated disruptions, with proceedings largely stalled except for a two-day discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The deadlock stems from the Opposition's united protest against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The INDIA bloc alleges the exercise aims to remove voters aligned with their agenda and benefit the BJP-led NDA. Rahul Gandhi has accused the EC of "vote theft," a charge the poll body has strongly denied, calling it baseless. The EC maintains that SIR is a routine nationwide measure to maintain accurate voter rolls.
(With inputs from PTI)