NEW DELHI: Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the fifth consecutive day on Friday amid ongoing protests from opposition members. The opposition demanded discussions on several pressing issues, including the Gautam Adani indictment in the US, the violence in Manipur, and the unrest in Sambhal.
The House will reconvene on December 2.
When the session began at 11 AM, opposition members immediately raised slogans, with Congress and Samajwadi Party MPs rushing to the Well of the House. As a result, only two questions were addressed during Question Hour, and Speaker Om Birla had to adjourn the proceedings until 12 PM.
Upon the resumption, protests continued, with opposition MPs disrupting the session. Despite the chaos, some ministers managed to lay papers and make statements, although the noise persisted.
The ongoing disruptions have affected the Parliament’s winter session, which started on November 25 and is scheduled to run until December 20.
“Rule 267 is being weaponized,” said Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, addressing the repeated adjournment requests under Rule 267. He dismissed 17 such notices, leading to more protests from opposition MPs. Dhankhar expressed frustration, urging MPs to reflect on their behavior and criticizing the weaponization of Rule 267 to disrupt proceedings.
Opposition MPs, including Congress members, objected to his remarks, and the Chairman pointed out that these disruptions had led to the loss of three working days.
Congress, particularly, criticized the government’s passive stance on the repeated adjournments. Party leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the government’s inaction in the face of these disruptions and the aggression shown by the opposition parties, especially regarding the Adani issue and the law-and-order situation in Manipur, Sambhal, and Delhi.
Ramesh also questioned why the government was not taking action to prevent the adjournments, and he accused them of encouraging the aggressive stance of the INDIA alliance parties.
