The Monsoon Session of Parliament remained deadlocked on Monday as repeated protests by Opposition members disrupted proceedings in both Houses over the alleged police action against students protesting the NEET paper leak and the alleged misappropriation of Ram temple donations. Despite the disruptions, the government managed to introduce key legislations in the Lok Sabha after the House briefly resumed business.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon shortly after it assembled as Opposition MPs raised slogans, preventing the House from taking up the Question Hour.
Before the adjournment, Speaker Om Birla congratulated Indian athletes for their performance at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, particularly women athletes who won eight gold medals, and noted that Ahmedabad would host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. He also appealed to members to allow the House to function, questioning whether they had come with the intention of disrupting proceedings.
The Rajya Sabha too witnessed heavy sloganeering by Opposition members, leading to repeated disruptions. Opposition parties continued to press for discussions on the alleged crackdown on students protesting the NEET paper leak and allegations relating to Ram temple donations.
The Rajya Sabha passed a Bill that seeks to tackle the issue of delayed payments to MSMEs by prescribing timelines to ensure faster adjudication of disputes, provide recovery of the settlement agreement, and address their liquidity issues, even as Opposition members continued to disrupt the House.
When the Lok Sabha resumed at 12 noon, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, which seeks to provide a statutory framework for the Indian Statistical Institute and strengthen its role as a globally recognised centre for statistical science. She also tabled the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026, aimed at replacing the colonial-era law to recognise digital and electronically stored banking records as admissible evidence in line with modern banking practices.
Meanwhile, it passed a Bill to replace an ordinance that increased the number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38 without a debate as Opposition members persisted with slogan-shouting over the issues of NEET paper leak and alleged theft of Ram temple donations.
The day's proceedings reflected the continuing standoff between the government and the Opposition that has dominated much of the Monsoon Session.
While the government has sought to advance its legislative agenda, the Opposition has maintained pressure over the NEET controversy and the Ram temple donation issue, leading to repeated adjournments and limited parliamentary business.
Both Houses are adjourned for the day.
Parliament's Monsoon Session enters its third week on Monday, with the government set to introduce a fresh set of Bills even as it hopes to break the logjam that has disrupted proceedings over the past two weeks.
Both Houses witnessed repeated adjournments as the Opposition pressed for discussions on the NEET paper leak controversy, the alleged police excesses against protesters at Jantar Mantar and the Ram Mandir donation row.
Amid the continued standoff, the Lok Sabha is scheduled to take up the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 and the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026, while the Rajya Sabha will consider the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The agenda also includes a statement by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Demands for Excess Grants for 2022-23.
The other two bills listed for the day are the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to replace an ordinance, and the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026.'
Reports say that the Centre is waiting for the Opposition to allow Parliament to function normally before taking up other key legislations. During the first two weeks of the session, Parliament passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology will meet on Monday to deliberate on the regulation of social and digital media platforms, days after Meta apologised for removing a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The panel, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, is scheduled to meet at 4 pm. Representatives from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Home Affairs and major digital platforms—including Google, X, Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram), YouTube and Snapchat—have been asked to brief the committee on the subject, "Social and Digital Platforms and Their Regulation."
The Opposition will stage a protest at Makar Dwar before Parliament convenes on Monday, reiterating its demand for a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the July 20 police action against protesters. Opposition parties are also expected to raise the alleged Ram Mandir donation theft row. The protest comes as the Monsoon Session enters its eleventh day amid speculation over the possible introduction of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill, setting the stage for another day of confrontation between the government and the Opposition.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari moves a motion for the adjournment of the business of the house for the purpose of discussing the new Anti-Defection Law.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on Monday submitted a notice under Rule 267, seeking suspension of the day's business to discuss the alleged theft of Ram Mandir donations and alleged financial irregularities in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The notice urged the Chair to allow an immediate discussion on what Surjewala termed a matter of urgent public importance. Earlier, Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury had also moved an adjournment motion seeking a debate on the Trust's financial transparency, an independent audit of its accounts and a government statement on the legal and regulatory framework governing its functioning.
A meeting of floor leaders of Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha is now underway at Rajya Sabha LoP's office in Parliament to work out a future strategy to be adopted during the ongoing Monsoon session.
A meeting of floor leaders of Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha took place at Rajya Sabha LoP's office in Parliament to work out a future strategy to be adopted during the ongoing Monsoon session.
— ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2026
(Source: AICC) https://t.co/YBC1q579X6 pic.twitter.com/pGZefQCVYR
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Dr John Brittas on Monday criticised the alleged manhandling of an Opposition MP, saying political disagreements should be addressed through debate and not physical confrontation.
"It is quite unfortunate that an Opposition MP was manhandled and those with an allegiance to the ruling party went to his house and forcefully ended his press conference. If the ruling party wants to counter the charges, they have many avenues. Physical assault on parliamentarians is not the way to deal with it," Brittas said.
He alleged that the incidents reflected the BJP's intolerance towards criticism.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon on Monday after Opposition MPs raised slogans over the police action against students protesting the alleged NEET paper leak and the issue of alleged theft of Ram Temple donations, disrupting the Question Hour.
Soon after the House assembled, Speaker Om Birla congratulated Indian athletes for their performance at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and highlighted that women athletes had won eight gold medals. He also announced that the 2030 Commonwealth Games would be held in Ahmedabad.
As the Speaker called the first listed question for oral reply, Opposition members began raising slogans. Birla questioned the MPs over repeated disruptions and urged them to return to their seats.
With the protests continuing, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon. The Lok Sabha has not been able to conduct Question Hour on any day since the Monsoon Session began on July 20 due to repeated disruptions.
The government is scheduled to introduce two Bills in the House later in the day — the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 and the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026. The House is also set to consider and pass the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026.
Opposition MPs, including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, protested in Parliament House complex on Monday against the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and "police excesses" against student protesters.
The MPs protested in front of Makar Dwar of Parliament with slogans such as 'chhanda chor, gaddi chor' and 'Amit Shah sadan mein aao' raised.
The MPs also kept donation boxes at the spot to symbolise the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple and lined up around them to raise slogans against the government. Some MPs also put cash in the box to symbolise the donations made and "theft" that took place later.
Besides Priyanka Gandhi, SP's Dimple Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav, TMC's Mahua Moitra, JMM's Mahua Maji, RSP's NK Premchandran, among others, participated in the protest.
The protesting MPs lined up behind a big banner that read 'Why Amit Shah absent from Parliament'.
They raised slogans against Shah apparently referring to the directions to security personnel to use lethal force against student protesters at the recent agitation against NEET paper leak.
The INDIA bloc has vowed to corner the government on issues of alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple and the use of "brutal force" against students during their protests last week.
On Friday, the INDIA bloc MPs had staged a skit during their protest in Parliament House complex.
The MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, put money inside donation boxes, while Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, dressed in a saffron outfit, slipped money into his pockets to symbolise the alleged theft at the Ram temple.
The protest has sparked a row with the BJP and Hindu outfits calling it an insult to Sanatan dharma.
Earlier in the day, INDIA bloc parties' floor leaders met in Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in the Parliament complex, to finalised the opposition's strategy for this week.
(PTI)
VIDEO | Opposition MPs stage a protest in the Parliament premises over the Ram Temple donation row.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 3, 2026
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/L4Quc0i2nB
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday as Opposition members continued to disrupt the House, demanding the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah to answer questions on police action on students who protested against the alleged NEET paper leak.
Members of the Opposition, including from the Congress and the Left parties, raised slogans seeking answers from the home minister over the alleged excessive use of force by police to disperse protesting students in the capital and other states last month.
The MPs also raised slogans over allegations of theft of donations from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Some Left MPs displayed placards in the House, prompting Chairman C P Radhakrishnan to say such conduct was not in order and warned that action will be taken if it continued.
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge sought to speak, but the Chairman insisted that Opposition members first stop raising slogans and return to their seats.
Although several MPs began returning to their seats, intermittent sloganeering continued, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House till 2 pm.
Trouble started as soon as listed papers were laid on the table of the House. Slogan-shouting Opposition MPs -- some carrying placards -- started moving towards the well. They, however, stopped at the front rows, but continued raising slogans.
Amid the uproar, Radhakrishnan called for listed Zero Hour mentions -- where MPs raise issues of public importance.
At one point, Opposition parties wanted him to allow the Leader of the Opposition to make a statement. However, as the slogan-shouting continued, Kharge wasn't called and the House was adjourned till 2 pm.
(PTI)
Before the House adjourned, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamantabled the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to provide a statutory framework for the Indian Statistical Institute and and enable it to emerge as a globally recognised centre of excellence in statistical science.
The Bankers' Book Evidence Bill, 2026, was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Bill seeks to modernise the law governing evidence related to bankers' books and align it with contemporary digital banking practices.
