New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha, on a monsoon-drenched Friday, became a stage of rising tempers and unrelenting slogans, culminating in an adjournment that pushed all business to next Monday.
The trigger was a demand for debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters list in Bihar — a process that has stirred deep anxieties across party lines and constituencies.
As the afternoon session resumed, Ghanshyam Tiwari took his seat in the Chair, attempting to restore order and proceed with the day’s agenda. He called upon senior advocate and Congress MP Vivek Tankha from Madhya Pradesh to put his question. Tankha stood, but his words were swallowed by the roar of slogans erupting from the Opposition benches. “Vote ki chori band karo!” echoed through the chamber, a chant that had by now become the refrain of the day.
Tankha, visibly perturbed, turned to the Chair and asked, “The House is not in order. What do I do?” Before any reply could be offered, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, rose to respond. But his voice, too, was drowned in the continuing uproar.
The slogans persisted, the benches refused to settle, and Ghanshyam Tiwari, after repeated appeals for calm, finally declared the House adjourned till Monday (August 4).
The disruption was not sudden — it had been building since morning. When the Rajya Sabha first assembled, Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced that 30 notices had been received under Rule 267, each seeking suspension of regular business to discuss matters of urgent public importance. But none, he said, met the procedural threshold required for admission.
That ruling ignited immediate protest. The Opposition, already galvanised by the Election Commission of India’s draft roll publication in Bihar, saw the denial as a deliberate attempt to suppress debate.
A broad coalition of Opposition MPs — Mohammad Nadimul Haque (Trinamool Congress), Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Ranjeet Ranjan (Congress), Neeraj Dangi (Congress), Rajani Ashokrao Patil (Congress), among others — had sought a discussion on the SIR, which they alleged was disenfranchising lakhs of voters under the guise of verification.
Simultaneously, Opposition members from Odisha demanded debate over rising crimes against women and children, while West Bengal MPs from Trinamool Congress flagged discrimination against Bengali migrant workers.
Jebi Mather (Congress) and CPI(M)’s A.A. Rahim demanded a debate on the arrest of two nuns in Durg, Chhattisgarh, earlier this month. Sanjay Singh (AAP) and Ramjilal Suman (SP) pressed for a discussion on the economic impact of tariffs imposed by former US President Donald Trump. CPI(M)’s V. Sivadasan called attention to mass layoffs in the Indian IT sector.
Despite repeated interventions, including a pointed appeal from Manoj Kumar Jha, the Deputy Chairman remained unmoved. He cited the sub-judice status of the SIR and the constitutional authority of the Election Commission, insisting that Zero Hour and Question Hour could not be repurposed for suspended business. That declaration only intensified the protests.
Ashok Kumar Mittal of the Aam Aadmi Party attempted to read out his Zero Hour notice, but his voice was lost in the chaos. Slogans like “Vote chori band karo” and “Kesaria pe halla bol” ricocheted off the House walls.
The Speaker tried to reason with the members, saying, “Pura desh dekh raha hai… aap jan samasya nahi uthane de rahe hain, aap rules follow nahi karna chahte (whole nation is watching… you are not allowing people’s issues to be raised… you don’t want to follow rules).”
But the din prevailed, and the House was forced into silence by adjournment.
Earlier in the day, amidst the turbulence, ministers managed to table several official papers. Ministers Jitendra Prasada, Ram Nath Thakur, Dr. L. Murugan, Kamlesh Paswan, Ravneet Singh, Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma, and Pabitra Margherita presented reports on rural development and railways, including updates from the second and sixth reports on rural development and the third report of the Standing Committee on Railways from the 18th Lok Sabha.
The government also laid out its legislative chart for the coming week. Among the items listed were the extension of Presidential Rule for another six months, the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, the Coastal Shipping Bill 2025, the Merchant Shipping Bill, and the Indian Sports Bill. Also on the docket were the National Sports Bill, the National Anti-Doping Amendment Bill 2025, the Manipur Goods and Services Tax Bill, and the Appropriation Bill for Manipur for the financial year 2025-26. A Bill to readjust Scheduled Tribe representation in Goa was also slated for introduction.
As the House prepared to reconvene next week, the mood remained charged. The Opposition was resolute in its demand for accountability, and the Chair, equally firm in its adherence to procedure according to the law book.
(IANS)
