Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid relentless protests by Opposition MPs

The Rajya Sabha descended into uproar on Tuesday as persistent protests by Opposition MPs over the alleged theft of Ayodhya Ram Temple donations disrupted proceedings, forcing chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan to adjourn the House until 2 pm.

When the House reconvened at noon following its first adjournment, the chairman took up the scheduled Question Hour. However, Opposition leader and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge rose to raise the issue of the alleged theft of donations made to the Ram temple.

Radhakrishnan disallowed the matter, maintaining that it could not be taken up as it concerned a state subject. He also pointed out that he had similarly prevented members of the Treasury benches from raising the Jharkhand issue, citing the same reason.

“LoP is raising a state subject, so that cannot be encouraged,” the chairman said.

As Opposition MPs continued their protests, Radhakrishnan urged them not to repeatedly bring up the same issue and disrupt the functioning of the House.

“I allowed you so many times. You are raising the state subject that will not be entertained,” he said, adding that members of the Treasury benches had also sought to raise state-related matters but were not permitted to do so.

The chairman told the protesting legislators that he would not allow any state subject to be raised and asked Kharge to return to his seat.

“Please take your seat Kharge ji,” Radhakrishnan said, before remarking that Kharge was putting him under pressure. “They (Treasury benches) never pressure me. You are always pressuring me,” he said.

Despite repeated appeals from the Chair, Opposition members continued with slogan shouting, leaving little room for normal proceedings. With the disruption showing no signs of easing, the Chairman eventually adjourned the House until 2 pm.

Earlier disruption

The Rajya Sabha had witnessed similar scenes earlier in the day, when proceedings were first adjourned until noon following an uproar over Kharge’s attempt to raise what he described as a “fresh issue” concerning the Ram Mandir.

After listed papers and reports of various Parliamentary standing committees were laid on the table, Radhakrishnan called BJD leader Santrupt Misra to raise a matter of public importance.

Misra began speaking on the availability of fertilisers in Odisha. However, as he was nearing the end of his remarks, Kharge stood up and sought permission to raise another matter related to the Ram Temple.

“Sir, I am raising a new point... here, the Ram Mandir issue,” Kharge said.

His intervention immediately triggered protests from the Treasury benches. As the din grew louder and members traded slogans, the chairman was forced to bring proceedings to a halt and adjourn the House until noon.

The repeated disruptions underscored the deepening political friction in the Upper House, with the Opposition pressing to raise the temple donation issue while the Chair insisted on adhering to parliamentary rules and the scheduled business.

With PTI inputs