Parliament Monsoon Session Day 1: Both Houses disrupted as Opposition presses for discussion on Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor

In Rajya Sabha, proceedings were adjourned for around 15 minutes in the first hour itself after Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the House J P Nadda spoke about the Opposition’s demand for a discussion by suspending the day’s listed business.

When there were disruptions from the Opposition while he was speaking, Nadda said nothing will go on record except what he was saying. By rule, the call is taken by the Speaker in Lok Sabha and Chairperson in Rajya Sabha.

In Lok Sabha, which met at 11 am, when Speaker Om Birla called for Question Hour, Opposition members stood up, shouting slogans, prompting him to urge the House to “maintain high parliamentary standards”. “We should bust this myth that disruptions happen in the House on the first day…” he said.

Birla sought to assure the Opposition that the government would address every issue. When the sloganeering did not stop, he adjourned the House till noon.

At noon, the House proceedings resumed — as did the Opposition’s protest. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju intervened, saying the government “is ready for discussion”. “But how would a discussion take place if there is a ruckus in the House?” he said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, too, said the government was ready to have “a long discussion” on all issues that the Speaker agrees to.

Around 12:20 pm, as the disruptions went on, BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, who was in the Chair, adjourned the House until 2 pm. When the House resumed, it was adjourned till 4 pm and then later for the day.

During Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Kharge and other Opposition members had submitted notices under Rule 267 (to suspend all listed business and discuss an issue) for a discussion on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.

When Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar indicated he was disinclined to entertain notices by Opposition leaders to discuss the issue under Rule 267, Kharge said “we need to know what happened”. “There was intelligence failure, the (J&K) L-G has said (that), we have not said,” he said.

Kharge also termed Trump’s repeated claims of mediating truce between India and Pakistan in May as “humiliating for the country”.

Dhankhar then gave the floor to Nadda. After wishing Kharge on his birthday, Nadda said: “The message should not go out to the country that the government does not want a discussion on Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor. We will have a discussion…we will present all the points to the country and the world.”

He said BJP member Samik Bhattacharya had asked for a discussion on the matter under Rule 167 and that it will take place after the time is decided.