NEW DELHI, Jul 20 (Agencies): The Monsoon Session of Parliament got off to a stormy start on Monday, with proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha disrupted by protests from Opposition members.
The Lok Sabha was first adjourned till 12 pm after Opposition members created a ruckus soon after Question Hour began, forcing Speaker Om Birla to suspend proceedings. When the House reassembled at noon, the protests continued, leading to a second adjournment till 12.30 pm.
The deadlock persisted after the House reconvened, prompting a third adjournment till 1 pm as Opposition members continued sloganeering and protests. With no let-up in the disruption, the House was adjourned for a fourth time till 2 pm, bringing proceedings to a standstill on the opening day of the session.
Presiding over the House in the absence of Speaker Om Birla during the second sitting, BJP MP Dilip Saikia urged members to allow Parliament to function and take up pressing national issues.
“Today is the first day of the Monsoon Session. I request you to take your seats. This is not the right behaviour. There are multiple issues in this country, including floods in different regions. Please have a discussion on them. A House runs through cooperation,” Saikia said before adjourning the House till 12.30 pm.
Earlier, Speaker Om Birla had appealed to Opposition members to refrain from raising slogans during Question Hour.
“Parliament is the supreme body of democracy. I request you to follow the rules. Please do not bring posters and placards. This is Question Hour. It is not right to raise slogans. You do not want the House to function,” Birla said before adjourning the proceedings till noon.
The Lok Sabha had begun the day with obituary references to former MPs Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, Omwati Devi, Sudhangshu Seal, Maj Gen B C Khanduri (Retd), K P Dhanapalan and Pyare Lal Sankhwar. The Speaker also paid tributes to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Father Amir of Qatar.
Meanwhile, proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were also adjourned amid Opposition protests.
Outside Parliament, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut criticised the repeated disruptions, saying Parliament was meant for debate and accountability.
“Parliament sessions are convened so that all issues can be discussed in detail. The government is answerable for everything. We want Parliament to function and they should raise their issues inside the House. But if they cause disruption, it is not right,” she said.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav, accompanied by party MPs, marched from Parliament to Jantar Mantar in support of students protesting over the alleged NEET paper leak. Accusing the Centre of refusing to engage with aggrieved students, she said the Opposition stood firmly with the youth.
Addressing reporters on the Parliament premises, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav launched a sharp attack on the Centre, accusing the government of displaying “arrogance” by failing to acknowledge the deaths of children and refusing to engage with protesting students.
“This is not a government but arrogance,” Yadav said, alleging that those responsible for repeated examination paper leaks had not been brought to justice.
He also claimed that an audit conducted by the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh had identified more than 20 examination paper leaks and alleged that those involved had political links with the BJP.
Thousands of protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak.
Ahead of the session, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had said the Congress and the INDIA bloc would hold the Narendra Modi government accountable on issues including alleged irregularities in Ram Mandir donations, examination paper leaks, the ethanol-blending policy and other matters affecting the public.