Lok Sabha adjourned till 4 pm as opposition protests over Bihar SIR

New Delhi: Lok Sabha was adjourned till 4 pm on Tuesday following continuous protests by opposition parties demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and other matters.

The House had earlier adjourned till noon and when it reconvened, treasury bench members tabled official papers. However, protests resumed as opposition MPs entered the Well raising slogans against SIR.

Presiding officer Krishna Prasad Tenneti urged members to return to their seats and cooperate, but with disruptions persisting, he adjourned proceedings for the second time.

Earlier, when the House met at 11 am, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that it was a matter of happiness that, from now on, the translation of the proceedings of the House will be available in all 22 languages under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution for the members.

He said so far, proceedings were available in 18 languages, and now onwards, four more languages were included in the list. "We should be proud of our Parliament, we should be proud of Indian democracy. On this happy occasion, I hope that members will cooperate to run the House smoothly," he said.

As soon as Birla ended the announcement, opposition MPs, including those from the Congress, were on their feet, raising slogans and showing placards with their demand for discussion on SIR, PTI reported.

The Speaker attempted to resume the House's business, specifically Question Hour, by permitting members to pose three questions to various union ministries and departments, despite the din.

However, the vocal protests of the opposition continued. After about 20 minutes of the proceedings, Birla adjourned the House till noon.

The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the SIR exercise initiated by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections there.

Barring discussions on Operation Sindoor in both Houses, Parliament has seen little business since the Monsoon session began on July 21, due to repeated adjournments initially prompted by opposition demands for discussion on Operation Sindoor and subsequently to a debate on SIR in Bihar.