The Parliament wrapped up the 14th day of the Monsoon Session on Thursday after continued Opposition protests over various issues disrupted proceedings in both Houses.
The disruption came 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.
Amid din, the Lok Sabha cleared the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 without a debate.
The proposed legislation seeks amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, the Income-Tax Act, 2025, and the Finance Act, 2026.
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday cleared the Appropriation Bill, which seeks Parliament’s approval for expenditure exceeding the budget estimates during the financial year 2022-23.
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.
Members stood in silence to pay tribute to the victims.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The proceedings of Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Thursday for the second time till 2.15 pm following continuous disruptions by the Opposition parties, including the Congress, which sought the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in the House.
As the Upper House reassembled at 12 noon, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan took up the Question Hour amid continuous sloganeering by the Opposition members.
The Chair repeatedly asked the protesting members not to shout and that they would be given a chance to put forth their views. Radhakrishnan then called the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak.
However, members of the Treasury benches objected to it, leading to heated exchange of words between the Opposition and ruling party members. The Opposition stuck to its demand seeking Shah's presence in the House to speak on police action against demonstrators in the national capital who had protested against the alleged NEET paper leak.
The Chair then asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to "echo the sentiments" of the Opposition to the Home Minister.
Amid the continuous protests, the Chair continued with the listed business for around 30 minutes before adjourning the proceedings till 2.15 pm.
Earlier, the Upper House saw the first adjournment within half-an-hour of the beginning of the day's proceedings due to slogan-shouting by the Opposition.
Soon after the listed papers were tabled, Radhakrishnan proceeded with the Zero Hour, but the Congress members demanded that Kharge be allowed to speak. Congress and other Opposition parties started raising slogans on various issues even as the Chair repeatedly asked them to return to their seats.
As the Chair allowed Kharge to speak, the Treasury bench members objected to it forcing the Chair to adjourn the proceedings till noon.
(PTI)
Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 3.15 pm amid stalemate over Opposition's demand for presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in the House.
Amid din, Lok Sabha passed the Taxation and other Laws (Amendment) Bill without a debate.
The amendment passed by the House without discussion amid din seeks to remove the existing legal provision that prevents banks and payment service providers from charging Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on notified electronic payment modes.
Real-time payments made through RTGS and NEFT are done by paying a service charge.
However, UPI transactions have been exempted from such charges so far.
The proposed changes in Payment and Settlement Systems Act is a part of comprehensive legislation on taxation, which was introduced in the House on Tuesday.
#WATCH | Delhi | On the passage of many bills in Parliament amid Opposition din, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge says, "Such a big incident has happened, so can't the Home Minister come to the House and make a statement?" pic.twitter.com/QafqhM5dF8
— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2026
Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid sloganeering by Opposition after passage of bill on taxation laws and changes in Payment and Settlement Systems Act.
The House will reconvene at 11 am on Friday.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved The Appropriation (No. 3) Bill, 2026 in the Rajya Sabha.
Congress and some opposition parties on Thursday staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on police action against protesting students.
Although Deputy Chairman Harivansh had previously announced that the proceedings will be adjourned for one hour when it resumed afternoon session at 2.15 pm, the Upper House reassembled earlier.
The House continued to witness noisy scenes as Congress and other opposition parties continued to press for their demand.
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday cleared the Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2026, which seeks to provide for the authorisation of appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India to meet the amounts spent on certain services during the financial year ended on March 31, 2023, in excess of the amounts granted.
Replying to the debate on the Bill, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "This is the demand for excess grant for expenditures undertaken in the year 2023 on just two accounts.
These two accounts were a part of what the Public Accounts Committee in its 39th report presented to the Lok Sabha this year in April".
Explaining further, she said one excess demand arises from a particular court order that was on the Railway Ministry for Rs 196.44 crore.
The second demand pertains to a larger amount of Rs 53,871 crore pertaining to the repayment of debt.
However, Sitharaman said the nature of debt receipts is against the issuance of securities and therefore has no fiscal impact.
The Bill was returned to the Lok Sabha after the Upper House gave its nod to the legislation with a voice vote, thus completing the Parliamentary process for the Money Bill.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day after clearing the Appropriation (No. 3) Bill, 2026, and taking up 'Special Mentions', during which MPs raised matters of public importance.
The House will reconvene at 11 am on Friday.
