Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan on Thursday asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to convey the sentiments of the opposition members to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman issued this instruction as opposition members continued to create a ruckus, demanding that Union Home Minister Amit Shah explain the police excesses against students protesting over NEET.
Both Houses of Parliament have been repeatedly paralysed as opposition members continue to disrupt proceedings by raising the NEET protest issue.
When the Rajya Sabha convened at 11 a.m. on Thursday, opposition members raised slogans, reiterating the same demands. They insisted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah should come to the House and explain the police excesses against NEET protest students. Due to the uproar, the Chair adjourned the proceedings within a few minutes of the start.
Even when the House reconvened at 12 noon, the opposition’s disruption continued. At that time, Chairperson C.P. Radhakrishnan, noting that “opposition members will be allowed to speak. Therefore, members should maintain order in the House,” allowed Opposition Leader Mallikarjun Kharge to speak.
However, the ruling party objected to it. As a result, a heated argument broke out between the two sides.
Speaking amid the uproar, Kharge said, “We are raising the legitimate questions of the country’s 1.4 billion people. We are only asking that the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister come to the House. If they come, we are also ready to take part in the debate on this issue,” he said.
Other opposition members also raised slogans making the same demand.
At that time, the Chairperson C.P. Radhakrishnan asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to consider Karge’s request and convey the sentiments of the Opposition members to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Later, as the uproar continued, the Chairperson adjourned the proceedings until 2:15 p.m.
Walkout... Even when the House reconvened at 2:15 p.m., the uproar continued, so the proceedings were adjourned for an hour by Deputy Chairperson Harivansh, who was presiding at the time.
When the House met again, Congress and other Opposition members staged a walkout from the House, insisting on their demands.
Appropriation Bill approved: Amid uproar by the opposition, the Appropriation Bill, which authorizes the Central Government to make allocations from the Consolidated Fund of India, was approved in the Rajya Sabha.
Due to the opposition’s uproar, the bill was approved by voice vote and sent back to the Lok Sabha.
Earlier, responding to the debate on the bill, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “The ‘Appropriation Bill 2026’ authorizes the Central Government to make allocations from the Consolidated Fund of India for amounts spent in excess of the funds allocated for certain services in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. In particular, due to a specific court order issued against the Ministry of Railways, this bill permits the government to obtain an additional Rs. 196.44 crore, and an additional Rs. 53,871 crore for repayment of debt, totaling Rs. 54,067 crore, from the Consolidated Fund of India,” she said.
This bill, which was approved in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, has now also been approved in the Rajya Sabha.
