No more Lok Sabha disruptions? Centre, opposition reach consensus
What's the story
The Lok Sabha is set to resume normal proceedings from Monday, following an all-party meeting chaired by Speaker Om Birla, where a consensus was reached between the Centre and opposition parties. The meeting was held after nearly a week of disruptions over the issue of electoral roll revision in Bihar. Following the repeated disruptions, Speaker Birla called the meeting of the leaders of all parties to discuss the functioning of the House at 12:30pm.
Parliamentary decorum
Speaker's appeal during question hour
During the brief sitting on Friday, Speaker Birla had expressed disappointment at the continued protests during Question Hour. He urged members to follow parliamentary rules and stressed that while disagreements are part of democracy, they should be resolved through dialogue and debate instead of sloganeering and placard displays. The House was adjourned within five minutes due to the disruptions, with only one question being taken up before the adjournment at 2:00pm.
Opposition
Opposition protest in Parliament complex
Before the meeting, opposition leaders, including Congress's Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar. The protest was staged outside the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex, where they raised slogans and displayed posters with "SIR" written on them. The leaders demanded transparency and equal access to data from the Election Commission of India (ECI).