RS adjourned till Monday amid Opposition protest over Bihar voter list revision
This marks the second consecutive week in the ongoing monsoon session during which zero hour has been disrupted, with no substantial legislative business conducted in the Upper House.
As soon as the House convened for the day, Opposition members raised slogans demanding an urgent discussion on the alleged irregularities in the Bihar voter list revision. The uproar led to an early adjournment till 12 noon. When the House reassembled, the protests resumed, prompting Deputy Chairman Harivansh to adjourn proceedings for the day.
Harivansh informed the House that he had received 30 notices from members across party lines under Rule 267 seeking suspension of business to allow discussions on a range of issues. Among them were Prof Manoj Jha (RJD), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Neeraj Dangi, Rajni Patil, and Renuka Chowdhury (Congress), Sagarika Ghosh (Trinamool Congress), and John Brittas (CPI-M), all of whom sought debate on the Bihar SIR.
Additional notices were submitted by members on diverse issues: rising violence against women in Odisha (BJD members Niranjan Bishi, Sultadevi, Sasmit Patra), alleged discrimination against Bengali workers in other states (Trinamool MPs Sameerul Islam and Mausam Noor), the arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh (AA Rahim, CPI-M), US tariffs on Indian products (Sanjay Singh, AAP and Ramjilal Suman, SP), and layoffs in the IT sector (V. Sivadasan, CPI-M).
The Deputy Chairman clarified that none of the notices met the procedural requirements and were therefore disallowed.
As Dr. Ashok Kumar Mittal (AAP) was called to speak during zero hour, Opposition members stormed the well of the House, raising slogans such as 'Stop Vote Theft' and 'Raise Your Voice on SIR'. Harivansh appealed for order, reiterating that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority and the matter is sub judice before the Supreme Court.
'The conduct of the House is governed by rules, and the nation is watching,' he remarked, before adjourning the session.
Earlier in the day, Congress MP Manickam Tagore submitted an adjournment motion describing SIR as a 'mass disenfranchisement of 65 lakh voters in Bihar' and an 'assault on democracy and the Constitution' by the Modi government.
Meanwhile, MPs from the Opposition INDIA bloc staged a demonstration near the Makar Dwar in Parliament, demanding a detailed debate on the issue. The protest follows a resolution passed by the bloc on Thursday to escalate its opposition both inside and outside the House, particularly in light of the Election Commission's scheduled release of the draft electoral rolls for Bihar.
With the disruption persisting through the day, no legislative business could be taken up, and the Rajya Sabha was adjourned until August 4.
UNI AJ PRS
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