Parliament Winter Session: Lok Sabha meets for less than an hour in first week amid ruckus over Adani row, other issues

Parliament Winter Session: The Lok Sabha functioned for less than an hour and the Rajya Sabha for about 75 minutes in the first week of the Parliament Winter Session, marred by protests by the Opposition over a host of issues including the Adani bribery case, Manipur, and violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.

Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the fourth straight day on Friday due to protests. Parliament will reconvene next week on December 2.

In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said people wanted the House to function while in the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the protesting members were setting a bad precedent.

The Winter Session of Parliament began on Monday. The proceedings were adjourned as the Opposition started protesting in both Houses. There was no business on Tuesday on account of Constitution Day. The proceedings were adjourned in both Houses on Wednesday also for the same reason. The protest continued on Thursday and Friday, too.

The Congress and other opposition parties are demanding a discussion on Manipur violence and bribery charges against the Adani group. The INDIA bloc is demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into allegations against the Adani group. Opposition MPs in both Houses of Parliament raised slogans inside Parliament.

Only a few questions could be taken up in the Lok Sabha throughout the week. Also, a motion for extending the tenure of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was adopted in the Lok Sabha. No other business could be taken up. The Lok Sabha functioned for six minutes on Monday while it ran for 16 minutes on Wednesday, 14 minutes on Thursday, and 20 minutes on Friday.

The Rajya Sabha functioned for 33 minutes, 13 minutes, 16 minutes and 13 minutes respectively, according to a report in Deccan Herald.

The Congress, however, questioned what it called the ‘big mystery’, asking why the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is not resisting the adjournments. 

“On the contrary, the Govt is facilitating the aggression of the INDIA parties on Modani especially - as also on Manipur, Sambhal, and Delhi’s law and order. Clearly it has much to feel defensive and apologetic about,” Congress general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.