The Opposition on Monday forced three adjournments each in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha demanding a government assurance on a detailed debate on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
In the Lok Sabha, Opposition members trooped to the Well waving placards and raising slogans as the House commenced for the day with Question Hour and then when it reconvened at noon and again an hour later. The continued protests over the SIR delayed the start of a discussion on Operation Sindoor by two hours.
“Leaders of all political parties had sought a discussion on Operation Sindoor and now you are in the Well raising slogans…. You can’t demand a discussion on any issue from the Well,” Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla told the Opposition MPs.
The Opposition relented and allowed the discussion on Operation Sindoor to start at 2pm after a huddle in the Speaker’s room and a statement by parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju in the House stressing that the government was ready for any discussion as per rules and the permission of the Chair.
“Now other issues are coming up when it was decided that a discussion on Operation Sindoor would start first. So I request my friends in the Opposition to allow a discussion on Operation Sindoor,” the minister added. The discussion was initiated after this by defence minister Rajnath Singh.
The Opposition's mood suggested that it planned to resume the protests once the discussion on the military operation against Pakistan if the Treasury did not agree to a debate on the SIR.
The Rajya Sabha transacted little business as Opposition parties raised slogans against the SIR. They began protesting after Deputy Chairman Harivansh rejected their notices seeking a discussion on the SIR under Rule 267, which mandates the suspension of all other business in the House for a particular debate.
Trinamool Congress members M. Nadimul Haque, Saket Gokhale and Sushmita Dev, Congress MPs Ranjit Ranjan, Neeraj Dangi, Anil Kumar Mandadi, Rajani Patil, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Rajeev Shukla and Renuka Chowdhury, Aam Admi Party's Sandeep K. Pathak, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, Samajwadi Party's Ramjilal Suman and Independent member Ajeet kumar Bhuiyan had moved notices for a discussion on the concerns over the SIR.