Monsoon Session: Ruckus by Oppn over Bihar SIR ahead of Op Sindoor debate; Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon

Mint

a day ago

Parliament Monsoon Session: Members from Opposition parties disrupted the procedings of both the houses of Parliament over the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha resumed on Monday ahead of a debate on Operation Sindoor.
Both the Houses were adjourned amid the disruptions. The Lok Sabha will meet againt at 1 pm and Rajya Sabha at 2 pm.
The Lok Sabha was expected to witness a fiery debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor from today. Members of the ruling alliance and the Opposition are expected to clash over the two issues steeped in national security and foreign policy imperatives.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—led ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and opposition parties will field their top leaders during the discussions in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will speak on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha around noon, according to news agencies. Deputy Leader in the House, Gaurav Gogoi, is expected to lead the opposition party's charge on the first day of the debate.
Twenty-six civilians were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, after which India retaliated through precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
But before the debate could begin, the oppsotion disrupted both the houses over Bihar SIR leading to adjournments. Opposition members raised slogans like against SIR as soon as Lok Sabha reconvened for question hour on Monday morning. The MP's have been demanding an assuranc efrom the government on a debate on Bihar SIR.
lSpeaker Om Birla urged the Opposition members to let the house function as an important debate is scheduled for the day in Lok Sabha. He adjourned the house till 12 noon. The protests returned at 12 and the Speaker adjourned it till 1 pm again.
"First, you ask for a debate on Operation Sindoor, then in the House, you come into the Well of the House. If you want to participate in a discussion, please take your seats. Do you want a discussion on Operation Sindoor or not?...Should I adjourn the House?" an angry Birla said.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Rajya Sabha where the house was adjourned till 12 noon and later 2 pm.
"Opposition has made a U-turn. This will not work. After half an hour, the Parliament proceedings will resume. The Defence Minister will open the debate. I urge everyone to listen to him. No Opposition party should speak the language of Pakistan," Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said.
A bone of contention has been persisting between the government and the Opposition: the latter's demand for a discussion in Parliament over the ongoin Special Intensive Revision(SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar by the Election Commission.
A united opposition stalled Parliament in the first week primarily over this issue, as it has claimed that the exercise is aimed at helping the BJP-led alliance in the poll-bound state, amid the EC's assertion that it is solely focused on ensuring that only eligible people cast their votes.
The Election Commission of India has yet again asserted that no names will be deleted from draft rolls without following due process, amid opposition claims that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's voters' list will deprive crores of eligible citizens from their right to vote.