Lok Sabha (LS) and Rajya Sabha (RS) proceedings were adjourned for the day amid continuous noisy protests by opposition benches over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks related to B R Ambedkar.
In the RS, the proceedings was suspended after Union ministers J.P. Nadda and Kiren Rijiju accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of using force against women BJP MPs at the entrance of Parliament. As soon as the House reconvened at 2 PM following an earlier adjournment, BJP members raised the issue, demanding an apology from Gandhi. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar attempted to restore order, saying he was looking into the BJP’s complaint. However, DMK member Tiruchi Siva noted that the complaint only reflected one side, while Gandhi had claimed that BJP MPs had pushed him. Amid shouting from both the ruling party and opposition, the proceedings were adjourned for the day.
The LS convened at 11 am but was soon adjourned as opposition members raised slogans demanding Shah’s apology for his remarks on Ambedkar. Speaker Om Birla attempted to pacify the protesting MPs and announced the demise of former union minister E V K S Elangovan. After observing a moment of silence to honor him, the opposition members again staged noisy protests, forcing Birla immediately adjourned the House till 2 pm. When the House met at 2 pm, the noisy protests continued and Dilip Saikia adjourned the proceedings for the day. The government had listed a resolution to refer two bills on simultaneous elections to a joint committee of Parliament, but proceedings barely lasted five minutes before the adjournment.
Earlier in the day, a face-off between the opposition and NDA MPs outside Parliament over Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar resulted in injuries to former minister Pratap Sarangi and another BJP MP. The BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of pushing the senior member, a claim he denied.