The Winter Session of Parliament opened today with a packed legislative agenda and a schedule that stretches across 15 sittings in 19 days. But the first hours inside the Lok Sabha were far from smooth. What should have been a straightforward opening quickly turned into a day shaped by loud protests, stalled discussions, and repeated adjournments.
The primary flashpoint: opposition uproar over issues including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Even before Question Hour could gain momentum, disruptions overshadowed proceedings, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House twice before noon.
Lok Sabha’s Stop-Start Morning: Protests Take Centre Stage
When the House first convened at 11 AM, Speaker Om Birla began the session with obituary references for Dharmendra, Col. (Retd.) Sona Ram Choudhary, Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, and Ravi Naik. Members observed a moment of silence in their memory.
But the quiet did not last long.
As soon as Question Hour began, opposition MPs rushed into protest mode—raising slogans over the electoral roll revision and other issues. The noise drowned out proceedings, prompting the Speaker to express firm displeasure. Disrupting parliamentary functioning, he reminded members, cannot become routine.
Despite the caution, protests intensified, and the House was adjourned till noon.
Second Convening, Same Chaos: Lok Sabha Adjourned Again
By 12 PM, hopes for smoother proceedings faded quickly. The moment the session resumed, sloganeering erupted once again.
Amid the commotion, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman still managed to introduce several key bills:
- Central Excise (Amendment) Bill 2025 — proposing excise duty on tobacco and related products
- Health Security and National Security Cess Bill 2025 — imposing a cess on items like pan masala
- Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill 2025 — amending Manipur’s GST Act
The House also formally extended the deadlines for two major committee reports:
- Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025
But with protests showing no signs of easing, the Speaker had little choice but to adjourn the House again—this time until 2 PM.
Rajya Sabha Opens with Oaths, Tributes and a New Chair at the Helm
While the Lok Sabha struggled with disruptions, the Rajya Sabha opened its day on a more composed note.
Three Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leaders—Gurwinder Singh Oberoi, Chowdhry Mohammad Ramzan and Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo—took oath as Members of Parliament.
A significant moment followed:
C. P. Radhakrishnan presided over the Rajya Sabha for the first time as Chairman.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the House in welcoming him, highlighting his rise from modest beginnings to the Vice Presidency as a reflection of India’s democratic strength.
The sentiment was echoed by Deputy Chairman Harivansh and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, both acknowledging his commitment to fairness and constructive debate.
What emerged was a rare instance of unified goodwill across party lines.
Reactions Outside the House: Leaders Speak on the Day’s Turbulence
Outside Parliament, MPs shared sharply contrasting views on the day’s disruptions.
- BJP MP Dinesh Sharma told Akashvani News the government is “open to discussions on all issues” and that MPs will have ample opportunity to raise constituency matters.
- JDU MP Sanjay Jha accused the opposition of attempting to derail the Winter Session the same way it disrupted the previous one, calling the protests politically motivated rather than issue-driven.
- MoS Education Sukanta Majumdar described the opposition’s conduct as theatrics, arguing that Parliament cannot become a stage for constant drama.
The divide over the SIR issue appears set to remain one of the session’s defining points of contention.
