Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid noisy protests by Oppn on SIR in Bihar

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 PM on Monday following vociferous protests by opposition parties demanding a discussion on the voter roll revision in Bihar and other issues.

 

Opposition members trooped in the Well raising slogans 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' (vote thief, vacate the chair) as soon as the House re-convened at noon.

 

BJP member Sandhya Ray, who was in the chair, allowed laying of parliamentary papers and introduction of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill and the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill.

 

A resolution to refer the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill to a select committee was also adopted by the Lok Sabha amid the din.

 

As the protests continued, the chair adjourned the proceedings till 2 PM.

 

Earlier, when the House met at 11 am, opposition MPs, including those from the Congress, were on their feet, raising slogans and showing placards with their demand for discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar.

 

Initially, Speaker Om Birla tried to continue the business of the House -- Question Hour -- by allowing members to ask six questions related to several union ministries and departments amidst the din.

 

After about 15 minutes of proceedings, the Speaker asked the protesting members to go back to their seats and warned that if they try to damage government properties, he would be forced to take strong action against them.

 

Birla also said that the kind of force the opposition members were using in sloganeering, it would have been good had they used similar kind of force in raising people's welfare issues.

 

As the opposition MPs ignored his pleas, the Speaker adjourned the House till 12 noon.

 

The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the SIR exercise initiated by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections there.

 

Barring discussions on Operation Sindoor in both House, Parliament has seen little business ever since the Monsoon session began on July 21 due to repeated adjournments initially due to opposition demand for discussion on Operation Sindoor and then demanding a discussion on SIR.