Both Houses of Parliament adjourn amid Opposition ruckus over SIR in Bihar
Lok Sabha witnessed two adjournments while Rajya Sabha one.
Lok Sabha was first adjourned upto 2pm shortly after it assembled for the day. After the Lok Sabha convened at 2 PM, Presiding Officer Krishna Prasad Tenneti called for the proceedings of the House. However, the Opposition members trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans like "SIR pe charcha ho (hold discussion on SIR), Loktantra ki hatya band karo (Stop murder of democracy), SIR wapas lo (withdraw SIR).
Some members were even holding placards with slogans written on them.
Objecting to their actions, the Presiding Officer reiterated, "We've repeatedly told you not to bring placards or disrupt the House in this manner. You are not following the rules. I once again urge you to return to your seats."
Tenneti said, "The Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024, has been pending for a long time. Twice I have requested for a discussion".
Meanwhile, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the bill aimed at enhancing representation for tribal communities in Goa. Addressing the Opposition, he questioned, 'By obstructing proceedings, are you opposing the bill? Are you against the tribals?'
The presiding officer again requested, "This is a very important Bill. we are talking about the tribals of Goa. There is no representation of tribals and don't you want this discussion?"
However, the commotion continued. The Chair then adjourned the house to meet again on August 4, (Monday) at 11 AM.
As soon as the House met for the day, Speaker Om Birla called for the question hour. Opposition members immediately entered the well of the House holding placards and raising slogans. The Speaker objected to their actions and urged the agitating members to allow the House proceedings to continue.
The sloganeering persisted as the protesting members ignored the Speaker's repeated appeals. The Opposition continued with sloganeering and Birla adjourned the House till 2 PM.
Meanwhile, similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha.
As soon as the Upper House convened for the day, Opposition members raised slogans demanding an urgent discussion on the alleged irregularities in the Bihar voter list revision. The uproar led to an early adjournment till 12 noon. When the House reassembled, the protests resumed, prompting Deputy Chairman Harivansh to adjourn proceedings for the day.
Harivansh informed the House that he had received 30 notices from members across party lines under Rule 267 seeking suspension of business to allow discussions on a range of issues. Among them were Prof Manoj Jha (RJD), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Neeraj Dangi, Rajni Patil, and Renuka Chowdhury (Congress), Sagarika Ghosh (Trinamool Congress), and John Brittas (CPI-M), all of whom sought debate on the Bihar SIR.
Additional notices were submitted by members on diverse issues: rising violence against women in Odisha (BJD members Niranjan Bishi, Sultadevi, Sasmit Patra), alleged discrimination against Bengali workers in other states (Trinamool MPs Sameerul Islam and Mausam Noor), the arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh (AA Rahim, CPI-M), US tariffs on Indian products (Sanjay Singh, AAP and Ramjilal Suman, SP), and layoffs in the IT sector (V. Sivadasan, CPI-M).
The Deputy Chairman clarified that none of the notices met the procedural requirements and were therefore disallowed.
As Ashok Kumar Mittal (AAP) was called to speak during zero hour, Opposition members stormed the well of the House, raising slogans such as 'Stop Vote Theft' and 'Raise Your Voice on SIR'. Harivansh appealed for order, reiterating that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority and the matter is sub judice before the Supreme Court.
'The conduct of the House is governed by rules, and the nation is watching,' he remarked, before adjourning the session.
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