New Delhi, July 29: Both Houses of India’s Parliament were adjourned on Monday after repeated disruptions by Opposition lawmakers demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The Rajya Sabha, the upper house, was adjourned twice and conducted business for barely five minutes before being suspended for the day. The Lok Sabha was adjourned three times amid protests before reconvening late in the evening to resume a scheduled discussion on Operation Sindoor and a recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
Opposition leaders, led by Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, sought an assurance from the government that the contentious voter roll revision exercise in Bihar would be debated. “Operation Sindoor is important, but SIR is also important. We want an assurance in the House,” Yadav told The Hindu.
The government has allocated 16 hours in each House to discuss Operation Sindoor, a recent military operation, and the Pahalgam attack. According to parliamentary sources, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar are expected to address the sessions. There are indications Prime Minister Narendra Modi may also intervene to highlight the government’s national security record.
In a pointed intervention during the debate, Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla questioned the outcome of Operation Sindoor, urging Defence Minister Singh to hold a parade of all 35 Rafale fighter jets in India to counter reports that the country lost five aircraft, including claims made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“This will show Donald Trump as well who said we have lost 5 jets, that we have in fact not lost any jets,” Aujla said. He also raised concerns over the absence of a formal agreement marking the end of the operation, citing the Simla Agreement as a historical example, and alleged politicisation of the military.
Earlier in the day, the Lower House witnessed an uproar after remarks made by Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav were expunged from the record. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman strongly objected to the comments, calling them “completely wrong.”
Speaker Om Birla adjourned the Lok Sabha proceedings for the day shortly before 1 a.m., thanking the members for their participation. The House is scheduled to reconvene at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
