LOK SABHA SPEAKER EXPRESSED ANGUISH OVER PLANNED DISRUPTIONS IN THE HOUSE

LOK SABHA SPEAKER EXPRESSED ANGUISH OVER PLANNED DISRUPTIONS IN THE HOUSE

22-AUG-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

DELHI------------------------The fifth session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which began on July 21, 2025, concluded. In his concluding speech on the last day of the session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressed anguish over the continuous and planned disruptions in the House. He said that sloganeering, display of placards and planned disruptions in the Lok Sabha or Parliament premises hurt the dignity of parliamentary proceedings. Mr Birla said that the public has great expectations from their representatives, so they should use their time in the House for serious and meaningful discussion on problems and issues of public interest and important bills.

The Lok Sabha Speaker informed that during the session, he gave ample opportunities to members of all political parties to speak in the House and discuss important bills and issues of public interest. However, he regretted that the continuous deadlock in the House was unfortunate. He stressed that serious and meaningful discussion should be carried forward while avoiding sloganeering and disruption in the House.

He said that the kind of language and behaviour seen in the Monsoon Session is not in accordance with the decorum of Parliament. He reminded the House that the language of the members, both inside and outside the House, should always be restrained and decent. He urged the members to ensure that their work and conduct set an example before the country and the world.

Mr Birla informed that 419 starred questions were included in the agenda of the session, but due to planned disruptions, only 55 questions could be answered orally. He further informed that at the beginning of the session, all the parties had decided that the House would hold discussions and dialogues for 120 hours in this session and the Business Advisory Committee also agreed to this, but due to continuous deadlock and planned disruptions, only 37 hours of work could be done in the House during this session. Mr Birla also informed that during the session, fourteen government bills were introduced and twelve bills were passed.

Shri Birla informed that the discussion on ‘Operation Sindoor’ began on 28 July 2025 and concluded with the Prime Minister’s reply on 29 July 2025. Shri Birla informed that a special discussion was initiated on the achievements of India’s space programme on 18 August 2025.