Lok Sabha Adjourned Sine Die Over Ambedkar ‘Insult’

New Delhi: Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday amid protests by Opposition and treasury benches over the alleged insult to B R Ambedkar and directions by Speaker Om Birla to members against holding demonstrations at any gate of Parliament.

As soon as the Lok Sabha convened for the day, the Speaker called Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to present a resolution for setting up a joint committee of Parliament to examine the bills related to 'one nation, one election'. Slogans of 'Jai Bhim' reverberated in the House as the Speaker read out directions barring demonstrations and protests at the gates of Parliament. As the protests continued, the Speaker adjourned the House sine die. Even before the House proceedings began, Congress members started raising slogans "Jai Bheem, Jai Jai Bheem".

Amid the slogans by the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the Lok Sabha chamber. As Meghwal moved the resolution, Congress members led by Manickam Tagore stormed the Well raising slogans. Protesting opposition members remained in the Well as 'Vande Mataram' was played as per convention at the end of the Parliament Session. Except TMC, most of the opposition party members, including DMK and NCP, joined the protest from their seats. Congress member Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was present in the House.

Rajya Sabha also adjourned sine die Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha was also adjourned sine die, concluding a session that witnessed more chaos than legislative business, with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urging members to reflect and choose between meaningful debate and destructive disruption.

The House was adjourned sine die after adoption of a motion to nominate 12 members of Rajya Sabha to the joint committee of Parliament to examine the two bills on holding of simultaneous polls in the country. In his concluding remarks, the Chairman said, "Our democratic legacy demands we rise above political differences and restore the sanctity of Parliamentary discourse."

He said the House effectively functioned for just 43 hours and 27 minutes with a productivity of merely 40.03 per cent during the Winter Session that began on November 25. Dhankhar said he was imparting the Valedictory Remarks taking note of the suggestion made after concurring with Leader of the House J P Nadda, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, and other leaders including N D Gupta, Tiruchi Siva and Jairam Ramesh.

"As we conclude this session coinciding with the 75th anniversary of our Constitution, we face a moment of serious reflection. While our celebration of Samvidhan Diwas in the historic Samvidhan Sadan was meant to reaffirm democratic values, our actions in this House tell a different story. The stark reality is troubling.

"This session's productivity stands at a mere 40.03 per cent with just 43 hours and 27 minutes of productive functioning.