Parliament Adjourned Sine Die, Opposition boycotts Speaker's tea party

Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned sine die on Friday following a ruckus on the premises after protests by MPs of the Opposition bloc over various issues, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar.

As a mark of protest, the INDIA bloc skipped the Lok Sabha Speaker's customary tea party. Opposition leaders said there was no point in joining such a tea party when FIRs were being filed against their MPs, and they were not getting a chance to speak in the House.

Amid the din, both Houses adopted a motion to send the two bills to enable One Nation One Election to a 39-member joint parliamentary committee for further scrutiny.

In the Lok Sabha, the opposition shouted 'Jai Bhim' slogans as the Speaker read out directions barring demonstrations and protests at the gates of Parliament following the scuffle between BJP and INDIA bloc MPs on Thursday. As the protests continued, the Speaker adjourned the House sine die.

The Rajya Sabha also witnessed similar protests from the opposition, even as chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that such "persistent disruptions" were steadily eroding public trust in democratic institutions. "As Parliamentarians, we are drawing severe criticism from the people of India and rightfully so... It is time to choose between meaningful debate and destructive disruptions," he said before adjourning the House.

Before the session began, opposition MPs, including Congress's Priyanka Gandhi, held a protest march to Parliament from Vijay Chowk demanding Amit Shah's apology and resignation for allegedly "insulting" BR Ambedkar.

The BJP also held a counter-protest and party MP Aparajita Sarangi gifted Priyanka Gandhi a bag with '1984' written on it, referencing the year of the anti-Sikh riots.

The Opposition and the BJP have been at loggerheads this week over Shah's remarks on Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on the Constitution. Matters came to a head on Thursday as MPs from both sides came face to face in the Parliament complex, resulting in injuries to two BJP MPs.