New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Thursday in the post-lunch sitting, amid continued protest by Opposition MPs demanding a discussion on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The House was earlier adjourned till 2 pm soon after it assembled at 11 am amid protests over the SIR exercise, which is underway in Bihar.
When the House reassembled post lunch, Opposition MPs were once again on their feet raising slogans against SIR. Amid sloganeering, The Coastal Shipping Bill, 2025 was taken up and later passed.
Opposition MPs however continued their protest with many trooping into the Well of the House. Trinamool Congress MP Mamata Thakur was also named by Chair Ghanshyam Tiwari for displaying a placard. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was briefly allowed by the Chair to speak.
He said the country was going through “dangerous” times, and the government and Opposition should work together. Kharge said the government should allow a debate on SIR, and Opposition would “do everything in the interest of the country”.
Leader of House JP Nadda however urged the Chair to continue with the bill as per the schedule. After a brief debate amid sloganeering and din, the bill was passed by a voice vote, and the House was adjourned for the day soon after.
Earlier in the morning sitting, soon after laying of listed papers and reports, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said he has received 25 notices from members under Rule 267 for adjourning the scheduled business of the day and taking up their issues.
However, he rejected all of them, stating they did not meet the requirement of Rule 267. Some of the Opposition members requested the Chair to at least announce the subject of their adjournment notices.
Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Sanjay Singh (AAP) and Pramod Tiwari (Congress) asked the Chair about the requirement they should meet for acceptance of their notices under Rule 267 of the House.
Meanwhile, several MPs from the Opposition benches, including from Congress and TMC were on their feet to protest the Chair’s decision. Harivansh pointed out that 51 hours and 30 minutes have been lost to disturbances so far during the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.
He urged the protesting members to let the House function so that MPs could raise their issues through Zero Hour mentions. However, the Opposition did not relent, leading to adjournment of the proceedings till 2 pm.
