Parliament adjourned for third straight day amid Opp protests

The Lok Sabha proceedings started at 11 am with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra taking oath as Wayanad MP, followed by the party’s Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan taking oath as MP from Nanded.

The Question Hour that began soon after was interrupted by protesting Opposition MPs even as the Speaker repeatedly asked them to return to their seats.

“I assure you that you will get adequate time and opportunity for issues you want to discuss. But you are trying to stall the House in a planned manner,” Birla said.

He said the members had been elected by people with great hope and they should raise the issues concerning their voters. “…Rules and procedures have to be followed to discuss things that have nothing to do with the country,” he said on the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on the allegations against the Adani Group in the US.

As disruptions continued, Birla adjourned the House till noon. When the House met again, it was announced by TDP MP K P Tenneti, who was in the Chair, that the Speaker had disallowed all adjournment motion notices on different subjects.  In the meanwhile, a motion to extend the duration of the JPC examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill up to the last day of Budget Session 2025 was adopted by the House.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed “the Congress and its friends for creating a ruckus in violation of all rules they had agreed to”. He said the Opposition parties had in a meeting in the presence of the Speaker agreed to allocation of time for discussions on Bills and other issues, and accused them of “depriving other Members of their right to raise issues concerning their electorate” .

Disruptions in RS

Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar said there was allocation of time for an issue in the last session, but the time could not be utilised for want of speakers. “…If we start having the practice of ‘my way or no way’, it is not only undemocratic but will pose a great challenge to the very existence of this sacred theatre,” he said.

When Congress’s Pramod Tiwari began to speak on Rule 267, Dhankhar adjourned the House till noon amid interruptions.

When the House assembled again, interruptions continued and the Chairman adjourned the House for the day at 12.05 pm.