
Both Houses of Parliament 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.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
43 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Speaker refers matter to Privileges Committee, Kejriwal, Sisodia to be summoned
Maintaining that there was no phansi ghar (execution room) on Delhi Assembly premises, Speaker Vijender Gupta on Thursday referred the matter to the Privileges Committee, which will summon former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, and former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, for an inquiry. He also directed the Privileges Committee to summon former Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the members of the House and the people of Delhi by 'distorting' history. Earlier, the Speaker had dismissed the claims of the previous AAP government that the structure, which was renovated and inaugurated in 2022 by then chief minister Kejriwal as a phansi ghar was actually a 'tiffin room' as per records. Displaying a 1912 map of the Assembly complex, he had said on Wednesday that there was no documentation or evidence indicating that the space was used for executions. 'We gave the Opposition three days to present their position, but their silence proves that this was a deliberate fraud. After consulting the Indian Council for Historical Research, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, National Archives, and historians, the House has come to the conclusion that there was neither a hanging room nor a tunnel,' the Speaker said. 'As the matter is related to patriotism and emotions, the House has decided to remove the phansi ghar and restore the Assembly premises. I am sending the matter to the Privileges Committee to investigate… It will summon the former CM, Deputy CM, Speaker, and Deputy Speaker, as the so-called phansi ghar was inaugurated under their guidance and presence,' he added. He also said that the plaque of the 'fake' phansi ghar should be removed. 'The plaque bearing Kejriwal and Sisodia's names outside phansi ghar will be removed. The 1912 map depicting it as tiffin room will also be displayed,' he said in the House. Gupta reiterated his allegation that 'falsehood' was spread in the name of Phansi Ghar and history was distorted. 'When we were in the Opposition, we were led to believe that there was an execution room here. We were also emotionally connected to the site,' he recalled. However, after becoming the Speaker, he conducted a thorough research and it was discovered that the structure in question was actually a 'tiffin ghar' (lunch room), which was 'deeply upsetting', Gupta said. He further said that the previous AAP government spent crores on this 'fake' phansi ghar and its advertisement. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said it was 'highly condemnable' that a place where people would have consumed non-vegetarian food was called phansi ghar. 'This was a place where the British used to eat meat… AAP has hurt the sentiments of people by connecting it to martyrs… this is an insult to the martyrs.' Built in 1912, the Delhi Assembly premises was originally meant to house the Imperial Legislative Council. It later served as the Central Legislative Assembly after 1919.


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Disruptions over SIR row cost Rajya Sabha 51 hours: Harivansh
Disruptions caused by a stalemate between the government and the opposition over the latter's demand for a discussion on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar have cost the Rajya Sabha 51.5 hours during the ongoing monsoon session, Upper House deputy chairperson Harivansh said on Thursday. Amid opposition protests on Thursday, the House passed the Coastal Shipping Bill. (ANI) Urging members to allow the transaction of business by taking up Zero Hour to raise important issues and Question Hour, Harivansh said the Rajya Sabha had the chance to take up '180 starred questions, 180 Zero Hour submissions, and 180 special mentions' during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. However, due to continued disruptions, the Rajya Sabha has been adjourned without conducting scheduled business, with the House only being 'able to take up 13 starred questions, five Zero Hour submissions and 17 special mentions' during this period, he said, pointing out that 51 hours and 30 minutes allocated time for business have been lost . While the opposition has been pushing a for a discussion on the SIR, currently taking place in poll-bound Bihar, the Union government has taken a stand that the House cannot take up a discussion on the issue as the case is sub-judice in the Supreme Court and that the matter relates to Election Commission of India (ECI), an autonomous body. After the customary laying of papers on Thursday, Harivansh informed the House that he had received 25 notices under Rule 267 –– to suspend the listed business and take up pressing issues, but these were not admitted. Opposition leaders, including AAP's Sanjay Singh, Congress's Jairam Ramesh and DMK's Tiruchi Siva, urged the deputy chairman to consider the notices, but the House was adjourned till 2pm. With the opposition, unrelenting in its demand, the House was eventually adjourned for the day when it gathered post lunch. Prior to the adjournment in the afternoon, the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2025, was passed in the House through voice vote even as opposition protested over demands to discuss the SIR exercise. Speaking outside the House, a senior BJP leader said the opposition was 'politicising' the SIR issue and the ECI's functioning, making a reference to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's accusations against the poll panel. 'They are aware of the rules, and that the (functioning of the) ECI cannot be discussed in the House…They want to derail the proceedings in Parliament and outside, the leader (Gandhi) is trying to create fake narratives against the ECI,' the leader said on anonymity. The Congress, for its part, said there is a ruling in the House that said the 'only restriction is related to the conduct of any judge except on a motion related to his removal'. On Wednesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said, 'Yesterday, the Deputy Chairman gave a ruling that because the Lok Sabha Speaker had said so on December 14, 1988, any matter concerning the Election Commission cannot be discussed in Parliament. But on July 21, 2023, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha –– a Modi appointee –– had categorically ruled that 'the Rajya Sabha is entitled to discuss anything under the planet with only one restriction.' He had gone on to say that the 'only one restriction' related to the conduct of any judge except on a motion related to his removal. The then-Chairman had added that the concept of sub-judice was totally misconceived.'


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
130 hectares tribal land to be diverted for Nicobar road project
New Delhi: An area of 130 hectares (ha) falling within a tribal reserve will be diverted for the Great Nicobar Trunk Infrastructure Road project, the union environment ministry has informed the Rajya Sabha. 130 hectares tribal land to be diverted for Nicobar road project Overall, an area of 238.76 ha is proposed to be diverted for the arterial road which includes 39.23 ha of government revenue land, 39.86 ha of private land, 10.62 ha of deemed forest, and 149.05 ha of protected forest. The area falling within the tribal reserve is 130.4 ha, the ministry said in response to a question. . HT reported on June 20 that the Trunk Infrastructure Road that will cut through Great Nicobar Island (GNI) and connect all villages on it, will lead to large scale employment, facilitate business and also make 'unconnected areas on the route prosper,' citing the draft social impact assessment (SIA) study for the project . The draft, published on A&N administration's Directorate of Social Welfare website this week added that a large number of trees will need to be felled for the road and that tribal populations of Shompen and Nicobarese have agreed to the land diversion. It also claimed that the road project will not impact their way of life. Anthropologists have cautioned against the social impact of the road project especially on the tribes. Kirti Vardhan Singh, minister of state for environment said as per information received from the UT Administration of Andaman and Nicobar, under the holistic development of Great Nicobar Island, an arterial road as a part of the master plan is proposed. The arterial road project is to be executed in a phased manner. 'UT Administration has further intimated that based on the sampling undertaken by the Forest Department, the estimated number of trees to be felled in the first phase of the construction of the arterial road is 12,428,' he added. Singh was responding to questions by Narrain Dass Gupta, an AAP MP. 'The diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes is undertaken based on the provisions of the Van(Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980 and Rules and Guidelines thereof. Accordingly, the diversion of forest land is allowed with conditions for raising of Compensatory afforestation and realization of Net Present Value (NPV). In addition to this, the additional mitigation measures in the form of Soil and Moisture Conservation works, Catchment Area Plan and Wildlife Management plan etc. are also stipulated on case-to-case basis,' Singh said. Responding on the issue of consent of Shompen and Nicobarese communities, Singh said: ''Land' is a State subject and it is the responsibility of the concerned State/UT to comply with the provisions of all other Acts and Rules. As per the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, the State Government or Union territory Administration, as the case may be, shall issue order for diversion of forest land, only after fulfilment and compliance of the provisions of all other Acts and rules made thereunder, as applicable including ensuring settlement of rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest 15 Rights) Act, 2006.' One of the conditions of the Environmental Clearance issued for the project was that a committee would be set up to exclusively oversee the welfare and issues related to Shompen and Nicobarese, Singh said. The clearance also asked that two other committees be set up, to oversee pollution and biodiversity related matters , he added. HT has reported on several environmental concerns associated with the Great Nicobar Holistic Development project which is also coming up on the island. The Great Nicobar Holistic Development Project has four major components: an international container transshipment terminal (ICCT); an international airport; a power plant; and a township. The total cost is estimated at ₹81,800 crore. The Nicobar Islands fall in the Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot and cover the western half of the Indonesian archipelago.