New Delhi, July 22: On the second day of the Monsoon Session, both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon following a fresh wave of opposition protests demanding discussions on Operation Sindoor, the recent Pahalgam terror attack, and the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
In the Lok Sabha, proceedings resumed at 11 am but were swiftly disrupted as opposition MPs—holding placards and raising slogans—pressed for a debate on the military operation in Pakistan launched after the Pahalgam attack. The operation, known as Operation Sindoor, involved a three-day offensive by Indian armed forces targeting Pakistani terror sites from May 7, following the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 people.
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appealed to the opposition to allow Question Hour to proceed, urging them to respect farmers’ issues. “This day belongs to the farmers. Please allow the House to function,” he said. However, as protests continued, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House till noon. “You don’t want a discussion on farmers’ issues. I can’t allow placards or sloganeering in the House,” Birla said.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha also witnessed turbulence as Deputy Chairman Harivansh, presiding in place of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar who resigned a day earlier due to health reasons, rejected 12 adjournment notices under Rule 267. These included demands for debates on SIR in Bihar and Dhankhar’s resignation itself. Opposition members rushed to the Well, prompting the Chair to adjourn proceedings till noon.
Earlier in the day, prominent opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav and MPs from Congress, SP, RJD, DMK, TMC, and others staged a protest outside Parliament. Holding placards that read ‘SIR: Stealing Indian Rights’ and ‘SIR: Subverting Indian Republic’, they accused the Election Commission of manipulating the voter rolls in Bihar.
At a strategy meeting of INDIA bloc leaders, Congress’ K.C. Venugopal said the opposition would press for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence in the House. “Issues like the Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor, Trump’s ceasefire remarks, Bihar SIR, delimitation, atrocities on Dalits and women, the AI 171 crash, and Manipur civil war are people’s issues and deserve answers,” he said.
Despite the chaos, the Rajya Sabha had managed to pass the Bills of Lading Bill, 2025 on Monday—a rare moment of business in an otherwise stormy start to the session. The Monsoon Session, which runs till August 21 with a six-day break for Independence Day, is scheduled to include 21 sittings over 32 days.
