The fifth day of the Parliament's Monsoon Session on Friday continued to be marked by disruptions, following a pattern of repeated adjournments over the past four days. The INDIA bloc opposition parties persisted with their protests, primarily demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the state's assembly polls.
According to PTI, leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra participated in a protest at Parliament's Makar Dwar, alleging that the voter roll revision is an attempt to disenfranchise marginalized communities.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called for transparency and for the voters' list to be provided to all political parties. Due to the opposition's sloganeering, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned shortly after the day's proceedings began.
Despite the disruptions, the Lok Sabha had a legislative agenda planned for the day, which included the consideration of The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill and The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024, reported PTI.
The Goa bill aims to provide for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the state's Legislative Assembly.The Merchant Shipping Bill seeks to amend and consolidate laws related to merchant shipping to align with international maritime treaties.
Reportedly, other significant activities included actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan taking his oath as a Rajya Sabha Member in Tamil. The Lok Sabha also observed a moment of silence to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the Kargil War victory.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affair Kirti Vardhan Singh addressed 'Operation Sindoor', stating it was a focused and non-escalatory response to a cross-border terror attack sponsored by Pakistan, aimed at dismantling terrorist infrastructure.
PTI reported that her response noted that Pakistan's subsequent provocations were met with a decisive response from Indian armed forces, leading to a request for a ceasefire from Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations on May 10, 2025.
Additionally, a parliamentary panel report tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday raised privacy concerns regarding telecom cybersecurity rules.
The committee recommended that the Department of Telecom should more clearly define the scope of data collection to prevent potential privacy violations.
The Rajya Sabha's Deputy Chairman, Harivansh, also rejected around 30 adjournment notices from opposition members on various issues, including a demand to discuss the "unexpected resignation of Chairman Rajya Sabha" and former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, quotes PTI.
