Amid persistent protests from Opposition against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the fourth day Thursday.
In the morning, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appealed to Opposition members to maintain decorum after they raised slogans and also displayed placards.
Birla said, “… You are members of such an old political party, which has contributed to this House and its decorum. The people from your party will see your behaviour in the House. You bring placards, raise slogans, bang tables. This is not as per decorum.”
Mentioning Congress MP K C Venugopal, Birla said, “This is the biggest democracy. What kind of message are you sending to the country’s democratic institutions?… Bringing placards, banging tables, these are not traditions of your party… People have not sent you here to bring placards, and bang tables.” Amid the din, Birla adjourned the proceedings in less than seven minutes.
When the LS reconvened at 2 pm, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the Chair, urged MPs to participate in a discussion on the Bill The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024, which seeks to provide seats for STs in the Goa Assembly.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal questioned the Opposition for not allowing discussion. “The Opposition is not cooperating. It means they do not want to discuss (the issues) in the interests of STs,” he said. As the protests continued, proceedings were adjourned for the day.
In the RS, Deputy Chairman Harivansh adjourned the House till 2 pm amid protests by Opposition. When the House sat again, Bhuwaneshwar Kalita, who was in the Chair, urged the MPs to begin a discussion on the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill but amid sloganeering by Opposition members, proceedings were adjourned within 15 minutes.
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AIADMK’s Thambidurai and YSRCP’s Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy spoke on the Bill but were barely audible amid slogans. BJP MP Laxmikant Bajpai urged the Chair to take action against the Opposition MPs under Rule 235 (ii). Congress’s Pramod Tiwari said LoP Mallikarjun Kharge should be allowed to speak. “… The LoP is on his feet but you are not giving him a chance to speak, nor are you giving any assurance…” The Chair then adjourned the House.
