Proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament today were disrupted over the issue of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The Lok Sabha was adjourned three times while the Rajya Sabha witnessed one adjournment before being adjourned for the day.
When the Lok Sabha met after the third adjournment at 4 PM, the opposition party’s MPs trooped into the well, raising slogans over the issue of SIR. Amid the noisy scene, the Lok Sabha passed the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The Presiding Officer urged the protesting members to allow the House to function but in vain. After the passing of the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Chair adjourned the House for the day.
Earlier, when the House assembled after the second adjournment at 2 PM, the House resumed special discussion on India’s first astronaut, Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, aboard the International Space Station, focusing on the critical role of the space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047. Participating in the discussion, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused the opposition of disrupting proceedings and not allowing the House to discuss such an important issue. He said, Shubhanshu Shukla made the country proud by becoming India’s first astronaut to reach the International Space Station. Mr Dubey alleged that the Congress government neglected the Indian space sector and did nothing to strengthen ISRO. He also mentioned the Nambi Narayan case saying how a scientist of national repute was subjected to immense physical humiliation. Amid din, the Chair adjourned the House till 4 PM.
When the Lower House assembled after the first adjournment at 12 Noon, the opposition parties continued with their protest demanding discussion on the issue of Special Intensive Revision. The Presiding Officer tried to run the Zero Hour but the opposition members started sloganeering. The Presiding Officer urged the protesting MPs to allow the House to take up the Zero Hour, but in vain. Amid pandemonium, the Chair adjourned the House till 2 PM.
In the morning, when the Lower House assembled at 11 AM, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla informed the House that interpretation facilities are now available in Kashmiri, Konkani, and Santali languages. He said, until now, apart from Hindi and English, interpretation facilities were being provided in 18 languages, namely Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Mr Birla informed that now, with the inclusion of Kashmiri, Konkani, and Santali, the House is now providing the interpretation facilities in all 22 languages mentioned in the 8th schedule of Constitution. After the announcement, the Lok Sabha Speaker tried to run the Question Hour but the opposition parties started a protest demanding discussion on the issue of Special Intensive Revision of electoral roll in Bihar. Mr Birla appealed to the protesting members to allow the House to function. He said, India is the biggest democracy in the world and opposition members should cooperate in the smooth functioning of the House. Despite the repeated appeal, the opposition members continued with their protest following which, the Speaker adjourned the House till 12 Noon.
Rajya Sabha also witnessed a similar scene. In the morning, when the Rajya Sabha assembled at 11 AM, Deputy Chairman Harivansh rejected 20 adjournment notices received from various political parties relating to various issues. Following this the opposition members started sloganeering over the issue of SIR. Mr. Harivansh tried to run the Zero Hour saying that this business is for members and they can raise issues of public importance. He also appealed to the protesting members to go back to their seats and allow the House to function but the opposition members continued with their protest. As the pandemonium continued, the Deputy Chairman adjourned the House till 2 PM. When the Rajya Sabha reassembled at 2 PM, the House passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025 before being finally adjourned for the day.
