The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till July 28 following persistent uproar by Opposition members on Friday, disrupting the proceedings while Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was addressing a query.
Amid intensifying protests, BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari, who was presiding over the session, announced the adjournment. The commotion began earlier in the day when Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh declined multiple Rule 267 notices from Opposition MPs seeking a suspension of business to discuss the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar.
Highlighting a breach of decorum, the Deputy Chairman stated, “Some members were not in their designated seats. Interruptions during a member’s speech with the Chair’s permission amount to breach of privilege.”
Congress MPs including Renuka Chowdhury, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Ranjeet Ranjan, Ashok Singh, Neeraj Dangi, and Rajani Patil had submitted notices under Rule 267, pressing for an urgent discussion on the alleged irregularities in the Bihar SIR exercise being conducted by the Election Commission.
Meanwhile, actor-politician Kamal Haasan of Makkal Needhi Maiam took oath as a Rajya Sabha MP in Tamil. DMK MPs Rajathi, SR Sivalingam, and P Wilson also took oath during the proceedings.
In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House till 2:00 PM amid similar sloganeering by Opposition MPs, who stormed the well carrying placards. He urged members to maintain decorum, saying, “If you don’t want to run the Parliament… the House is adjourned.”
The Monsoon Session, which began on July 21, has been marked by repeated disruptions. On Friday, INDIA bloc MPs continued their protest for the fifth consecutive day at Parliament’s Makar Dwar, denouncing the SIR process in Bihar. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi were among those leading the protest, carrying banners reading “SIR — Attack on Democracy.”
The Opposition is demanding the Prime Minister address both Houses and respond to the SIR controversy, the Pahalgam terror attack, and recent claims by former US President Donald Trump regarding India-Pakistan ceasefire efforts post-Operation Sindoor.
