Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day amid Opposition ruckus, sloganeering over Bihar electoral roll revision
Pointing to the rules, Deputy Chairman Harivansh urged members to 'strictly adhere to well-established customs and etiquette to be observed in the Council and respect each other's privilege to speak on the floor when permitted by the Chair.'
'Yesterday, it was unfortunately observed that some members, while not being in their designated seats, were attempting to disturb the Speaker,' he said.
The session began with the swearing-in of members from Tamil Nadu. Actor-politician Kamal Haasan of the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), which is an ally of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, took oath as a Rajya Sabha member, marking his debut in the House. Three DMK members from Tamil Nadu also took the oath – S R Sivalingam, Rajathi S, and P Wilson. All of them took the oath in Tamil.
Later, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said he received 28 notices under Rule 267. Notices under this rule ask to suspend all listed business and discuss an important issue that the country is facing.
Notices by MPs, including Akhilesh Prasad Singh, A A Rahim, Saket Gokhale, Sushmita Dev, Jebi Mather Hisham, Tiruchi Siva, John Brittas, and Manoj Kumar Jha demanded discussion on the concerns arising from the SIR of electoral rolls undertaken by the Election Commission in Bihar. Other notices from Opposition MPs under Rule 267 called for discussions on the alleged discrimination of Bengali migrant workers in other states, restoration of constitutional democracy in Manipur, and India's trade deal with the UK and the US.
Declining the notices, the Deputy Chairman pointed to 'detailed rulings on Rule 267 imparted by the Chair' in December 2022. This prompted an uproar from the Opposition. The Rajya Sabha has previously seen showdowns between Opposition members and former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar over declining of notices under Rule 267.
When the House reconvened at 12 pm with Ghanshyam Tiwari in the Chair, Question Hour began amid sloganeering from Opposition members.
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was responding to a question, appealed to the Chair and Opposition members to let him respond to a question on his ministry. 'This House is the temple of democracy. The soul of democracy is dialogue and discussion. I would like to respond to the questions,' he said.
With continuing sloganeering from the Opposition, the House was adjourned for the day, and is set to meet again on Monday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
15 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar appointed new Chief Whip of Trinamool Congress in Lok Sabha
Synopsis Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has been appointed as the Trinamool Congress' new Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, succeeding Kalyan Banerjee, who resigned after criticizing party leadership. Satabdi Roy is now the Deputy Leader. Meanwhile, Abhishek Banerjee has been chosen as the leader of the Trinamool Congress' Parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha, following Sudip Bandyopadhyay's health concerns. IANS Kolkata: Trinamool Congress member Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has been appointed as the new Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress' Parliamentary team in the Lok reshuffle occurred barely 24 hours after Kalyan Banerjee's resignation. The post had fallen vacant on Monday. Kalyan Banerjee's resignation came after he publicly criticised the party's parliamentary leadership, questioning the attendance of fellow MPs and Mahua official announcement on this count was made by the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday through an official post on the party's X Handle.'Shri Kalyan Banerjee submitted his resignation yesterday to the Chairperson from the post of Chief Whip of the @AITCofficial Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha. The Chairperson has accepted his resignation and thanked him for his contributions in that role.'In consultation with senior parliamentarians, the Chairperson has nominated Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the new Chief Whip of the @AITCofficial in the Lok Sabha and Smt. Satabdi Roy as the new Deputy Leader of the AITC in the Lok Sabha with immediate effect. We extend our best wishes to both of them in their new roles and in their continued efforts to uphold Bengal's pride, rights and honour,' the statement read. Meanwhile, following the ailing health of MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Trinamool's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was selected as the leader of Trinamool Congress' Parliamentary party in the Lok Banerjee on NRCWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday raised concern over NRC."How can the Assam government issue such notices? Bengali workers are being killed in Maharashtra. They are being tortured in several other states like Delhi and Haryana. How dare they say there is no language called Bengali! This will never be tolerated. It is our oath to protect our mother tongue," Banerjee said."In the name of the voter list, they are planning to implement NRC. I do not trust the BJP. Those who have valid documents must ensure their names are registered in the electoral roll. They are planning to remove them. Know this, if they lay a hand on you, we will not remain silent. This is a fight for harmony, culture, and existence," she added.
Hindustan Times
17 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Not scared of police, 'PDA Pathshala' will continue: Akhilesh
Amid a controversy surrounding 'PDA Pathshala', Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said it will continue across the state as his party workers are not scared of police and that the CM himself should attend it to observe the conditions. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. (HT file) 'The CM should see how dilapidated the condition of the schools is. Children were injured when the roof of a school collapsed in his home district,' he said. 'The BJP government is against education. Those who are against education are the biggest mafia. The government is filing FIRs regarding education. If it thinks that it will close the PDA Pathshala and PDA tuitions with the help of police, it is its misconception,' he claimed. 'The SP workers have resolved that till the government does not send teachers and principals to the closed schools, the PDA Pathshala will continue,' Yadav said while speaking to media after garlanding the statue SP ideologue Janeshwar Mishra on his birth anniversary at the park named after him here. The SP chief claimed that the decision to close and merge primary schools is wrong and it should be stopped. 'New schools were built by the Samajwadi government. Abhinav schools were opened. Sanskriti school was opened in Lucknow but the BJP government did not let it run,' he claimed. On flood-like situation in many parts of the state, he alleged, 'Even after spending ₹20,000 crore in Prayagraj, houses are submerged in flood waters there. The government is not giving relief to the victims. There is no drinking water. There are no toilets. There is no arrangement for the treatment of patients.' 'In the capital Lucknow, the mayor is from BJP and the government is of BJP, but even then drains are clogged. There is a pile of garbage. There are potholes on the roads. There is waterlogging and mud everywhere,' Yadav alleged. On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of assembly polls, the SP chief claimed when the public started defeating the BJP, a plan to cut votes in the name of SIR was brought. Seminar marks SP leader's birth anniv A seminar on socialism marked the birth anniversary of the Samajwadi Party leader the late Janeshwar Mishra in Lucknow on Tuesday. Releasing the Janeshwar Vichar Pradeepika on the occasion, SP national general secretary Shivpal Singh shared the teachings and memories of Janeshwar Mishra aka Chhote Lohia. 'The BJP government is imposing its communal agenda in the name of nationalism. This government is hell-bent on snatching the smile from the faces of most of the poor to serve the interests of a few capitalists,' Shivpal alleged while speaking at the seminar. 'The SP is the party of every person who wants harmony, goodwill and brotherhood in the society. Even though Lohiaji (Ram Manohar Lohia), Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and Janeshwarji are not there to guide the socialists today, their immortal thoughts will always show the way,' he added.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
'Can't comment on actions of EC': Centre cites 1988 ruling to reject Opposition demands for Bihar SIR debate
NEW DELHI: The Union government has signaled its unwillingness to allow a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, with Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh invoking a 1988 ruling by former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar to reject the Opposition's demand. On Tuesday, Harivansh cited Jakhar's December 1988 decision, which barred parliamentary discussion on the functioning or decisions of the Election Commission (EC), stating that the autonomous body's actions cannot be scrutinized in the House. 'You know that I cannot comment upon the actions and decisions of the EC, which is an autonomous body. Never before have I done it, nor will I do it now. Unless you amend the Constitution and bring the EC under parliamentary purview, we cannot discuss its decisions,' Harivansh said, quoting Jakhar's ruling. The Deputy Chairman's remarks came as he dismissed 34 notices submitted by Opposition MPs, most seeking the suspension of business under Rule 267 to urgently debate the SIR in Bihar and other states. Harivansh cited procedural flaws, including incorrect formatting, the sub judice nature of some matters, and the absence of precedent for such discussions. He expressed concern over the frequent misuse of Rule 267, meant for 'rarest of rare' cases, noting that most notices lacked proper citations or pertained to issues outside Parliament's jurisdiction. 'Despite clear rules, some members are using Rule 267 casually, disrupting proceedings when their notices are disallowed,' he said. Highlighting historical data, Harivansh pointed out that very few such notices had been accepted—none between 2000–2004, only four from 2004–2009, one out of 491 during 2009–2014, and just six out of 3,152 between 2014 and the 2025 Budget Session.
