logo
Parliament monsoon session turns into washout; Bills passed amid Opposition protests

Parliament monsoon session turns into washout; Bills passed amid Opposition protests

India Todaya day ago
The Monsoon Session of Parliament this year was reduced to a near-total washout, with the Opposition staging relentless protests both inside and outside the House over the issue of SIR. From the very first day, the Opposition remained steadfast in its demand for a discussion, resulting in repeated disruptions and preventing the smooth conduct of legislative business.The only structured discussion that took place during the entire session was on Operation Sindoor, while several other important debates — including a special discussion proposed by the government on India's space programme for Viksit Bharat 2047 — were stalled due to ruckus in both Houses.advertisementGovernment sources expressed disappointment at what they termed the 'obstinate behaviour' of Opposition parties, which, they said, not only paralysed parliamentary debates but also denied their members a chance to participate in the passage of several significant pieces of legislation.
Despite the chaos, the government succeeded in getting multiple Bills passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Many of these legislations were cleared either without discussion or after brief debates held amid din, with Opposition MPs either shouting slogans, staging walkouts, or refusing to participate.BILLS PASSED IN LOK SABHAIn the Lok Sabha, some of the Bills that managed to secure limited discussion before passage included:The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2025The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025The Indian Ports Bill, 2025The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025The remaining Bills were passed without any discussion, underscoring the extent of disruption in the Lower House.BILLS PASSED IN RAJYA SABHAThe Rajya Sabha witnessed a similar scenario. The Bills of Lading Bill, 2025, was the only legislation that sailed through smoothly on the very first day, before protests intensified.All subsequent Bills were either passed amid uproar or after Opposition members staged a walkout, including:The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025The Coastal Shipping Bill, 2025The Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025The Manipur Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2025The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2025The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025The Income-tax Bill, 2025The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025The Indian Ports Bill, 2025The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025While the government defended its decision to proceed with the legislative agenda amid din, citing constitutional obligations, Opposition parties accused the ruling dispensation of bulldozing laws without debate.Parliamentary observers noted that the session highlighted the deepening standoff between the Treasury and Opposition benches. Important legislations with far-reaching consequences—from taxation and sports governance to higher education and shipping reforms—were passed with little scrutiny.advertisementThe Monsoon Session of 2025 may be remembered more for protests and paralysis than for meaningful parliamentary debate.- Ends
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Online gaming companies move to shut paid operations as gaming Bill gets Rajya Sabha nod
Online gaming companies move to shut paid operations as gaming Bill gets Rajya Sabha nod

Indian Express

time22 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Online gaming companies move to shut paid operations as gaming Bill gets Rajya Sabha nod

The Rajya Sabha's approval of the online gaming Bill Thursday has drawn the final curtain on India's booming real-money gaming industry. What was once a bustling digital arena of wagers and winnings now stands eerily silent, as leading platforms suspend paid play and others fold entirely. Lawmakers hail the measure as a shield against harm, but to thousands of workers and millions of players, it feels like the lights have dimmed on a once-thriving stage. Opinion trading platform Probo, in a message displayed on its app, said that 'in light of recent developments, we have paused all recharge activities in your best interest,' while requesting users to withdraw funds. Dream11, the country's biggest fantasy sports app and the Indian cricket team's main jersey sponsor, also communicated to its employees that it will wind down its real money operations. Zupee, another gaming platform, said it was discontinuing paid games, with users able to play free titles. 'Everyone will shut down paid operations for now, as the industry prepares a legal roadmap to challenge the law,' a senior gaming industry executive said. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, now passed by both houses of Parliament, outlaws online money gaming services and penalises their celebrity endorsers. The Bill has been drafted over national security concerns related to online gaming platforms, including the use of digital wallets and cryptocurrencies for money laundering and illicit fund transfers, these platforms serving as potential messaging and communication grounds for terror organisations, and offshore entities circumventing Indian tax and legal obligations, among others. The government will prohibit any person from offering online games in India, failing which they could be imprisoned for up to three years, and penalised Rs 1 crore. Those promoting such platforms, such as social media influencers, will also face jail time of two years, and a penalty of Rs 50 lakh. The government will also prohibit banks and financial institutions from facilitating financial transactions on such platforms. The Bill applies to all online money gaming platforms irrespective of whether they are games of skill or chance, a distinction the industry had lobbied hard for in the past. The Bill said that the unchecked expansion of online money gaming services has been linked to 'unlawful activities including financial fraud, money-laundering, tax evasion, and in some cases, the financing of terrorism, thereby posing threats to national security, public order and the integrity of the State'. The parallel proliferation of online money games accessible through mobile phones, computers and the internet, and offering monetary returns against user deposits has led to 'serious social, financial, psychological and public health harms, particularly among young individuals and economically disadvantaged groups,' it said.

Haryana assembly session begins today
Haryana assembly session begins today

Hindustan Times

time22 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Haryana assembly session begins today

The monsoon session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha which starts Friday is expected to be a three-day affair. Supplementary estimates for the financial year 2025-2026 will be tabled on August 25 and the Appropriation Bill with regards to 2025-26 supplementary estimates will be tabled in the House on August 26. As per the tentative schedule issued by the assembly secretariat, the opening day on August 22 will see obituary references and some legislative business. Supplementary estimates for the financial year 2025-2026 will be tabled on August 25 and the Appropriation Bill with regards to 2025-26 supplementary estimates will be tabled in the House on August 26. The final schedule and duration of the monsoon will however be decided by the business advisory committee on August 22 morning. Congress, the principal opposition group in the House with 37 MLAs, has submitted an adjournment motion on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra said that they have also submitted calling attention motions on water logging due to rains, non-payment of medical bills under Ayushman Bharat (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) to private healthcare providers which led to stoppage of services. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the law and order situation in the state continues to worsen and the BJP government has proved to be thoroughly ineffective in tackling the rising crime and criminal gangs. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) which has just two MLAs have also submitted a number of calling attention motions on the issue of failing law and order situation, scarcity of fertiliser in the state, massive increase in the collector rates and hike in electricity tariff, crop damage due to waterlogging.

ONOE will aid India's constitutional goals: Ministers
ONOE will aid India's constitutional goals: Ministers

Hindustan Times

time22 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

ONOE will aid India's constitutional goals: Ministers

Union cabinet ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Bhupinder Yadav on Thursday voiced strong support for One Nation One Election (ONOE) at a symposium in Delhi, stating that the reform will not only transform the country's economic landscape but also aid in achieving the constitutional goals of social, economic, political justice, equality and fraternity. ONOE will aid India's constitutional goals: Ministers Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said ONOE is not a decision taken in haste but a long-considered reform involving decades of deliberation, that can only be implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Union environment Minister Bhupinder Yadav said that the simultaneous elections must not be the agenda of a single political party but a necessary step for serving nation's collective interest. Speaking at the symposium organised by the organisation Lawyers Voice on 'One Nation One Election: Need of the Hour' at the Delhi high court, Meghwal said that holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies could lead to a 1.5% increase in the country's GDP and accelerate India's progress in becoming the third largest economy. 'We are already the fourth-largest economy in the world, and soon we will become the third-largest. This reform will only accelerate our progress,' he said. The law minister, in his speech, also addressed the concerns about the lack of consensus and clarified that the government consulted 47 political parties in this process. 'A lot of people say that the decision was taken without consultation but we invited 47 political parties and 32 out of 47 agreed. 15 said that they disagree with it. We have the Law Commission's report, the parliamentary standing committee's report of 2015, Niti Aayog has also supported simultaneous elections,' the minister said. Meghwal said that even public opinion is in favour of simultaneous elections. 'We received 5,032 responses through our website, and 3,837 supported One Nation, One Election. This shows that the public, too, wants this reform,' he added. Adding to the discourse, Yadav, while calling elections a means to secure people's mandate, said that ONOE would also ensure better coordination between Centre and the state governments in implementation of developmental reforms. 'Elections are the means to seek people's mandate and work towards the betterment of the country and that is why conducting one nation one election is important. This reform will help strengthen democratic values by ensuring that every citizen's voice—rich or poor—is represented effectively in Parliament,' Yadav said. Also known as simultaneous elections, ONOE proposes aligning the election cycles of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies by allowing the voters to cast their ballots for both tiers of government on the same day in their constituencies. The proposal was a part of the BJP's 2024 poll manifesto and is backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who argues that it will trim election costs and shift focus to governance. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had introduced the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, commonly called the one nation, one election Bill in Lok Sabha in December last year and was later referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store