Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid Opposition protest

The Lok Sabha was plunged into uproar on Tuesday as persistent sloganeering from the Opposition benches drowned out the Question Hour, prompting speaker Om Birla to adjourn the House until 2 pm after repeated appeals for calm failed to restore order.

As the din swelled across the chamber, Birla urged lawmakers from both the Treasury and Opposition benches to uphold the dignity of Parliament and allow proceedings to continue smoothly.

“Disruptions in the House are against the spirit of democracy,” Birla said, stressing that Parliament must remain a forum for meaningful debate and discussion. He also pointed out that the government had assured the House that Union home minister Amit Shah was ready to discuss the issue of the students’ protest.

The Opposition, however, remained adamant, demanding Shah’s presence in the House for a discussion on the alleged police action against students during the 20 July Parliament march.

With the uproar showing no signs of abating, the speaker eventually brought proceedings to a halt and adjourned the House until 2 pm.

The disruption adds another chapter to a Monsoon Session marked by repeated protests and interruptions, with Opposition parties raising a range of contentious issues, including examination paper leaks, alleged police action against protesters at Jantar Mantar and the Ram Mandir donation theft case.

Earlier in the day, BJP-led NDA MPs staged a protest march towards Parliament’s Makar Dwar, carrying placards targeting Congress leader and Lok Sabha leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. One of the messages read: “Grah Mantri ki charcha se Rahul Gandhi bhago mat” — urging Gandhi not to evade the proposed discussion involving the home minister.

The BJP accused the Opposition and Rahul Gandhi of “running away” from a debate on the police action against protesting students, even as the government maintained that home minister Amit Shah was prepared to make a statement on the issue.

The confrontation comes as the Monsoon Session approaches its scheduled conclusion on Thursday, with the NDA government preparing to push through several pending Bills while Opposition protests are expected to continue over a host of contentious matters.

The issue had already stirred the House on Monday, when parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, amid loud sloganeering from the Opposition benches, informed lawmakers that Shah would make a statement on the students’ protest. Rijiju also urged the Opposition not to “run away” from the ensuing discussion.

The controversy stems from the police action against protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on 20 July, organised over the NEET paper leak allegations and other irregularities in competitive examinations.

The Opposition has been demanding an explanation from the home minister over what it has described as “police brutality” against students during the demonstration.

With the clock ticking down on the Monsoon Session, the confrontation over the students’ protest has once again brought Parliament’s competing demands for accountability, debate and order into sharp focus.

With IANS inputs