NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha passed the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, without a debate and Rajya Sabha couldn’t transact any business Friday, amid sloganeering by opposition members over paper leaks, police crackdown of protesters and Ram temple “theft” issues.The bill was taken up for consideration and passage as soon as Lok Sabha reassembled after an hour-long adjournment at noon with BJP MP Dilip Saikia in the chair, leaving the opposition surprised as the house’s legislative business list showed it being listed against the name of home minister Amit Shah — who was not present — for moving it for passage.Several opposition members trooped into the well of the House, demanding Shah’s presence in LS, leading to the bill — seeking to amend provisions of the 1969 law to encourage timely registration of births and deaths — being passed by voice vote. Congress’s KC Venugopal and other MPs opposed its passage without debate.The bill proposed to make delayed registration of births and deaths stringent by requiring an order from a judicial magistrate (first class) for registrations after two years of the event.
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While Congress vehemently raised the issue of police crackdown on students, SP MPs were seen carrying placards of “chanda chor” to highlight the alleged temple donation theft. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said it was unfortunate the opposition did not participate in the discussion, despite agreeing in the business advisory committee meeting.As proceedings began in RS, several opposition MPs demanded LoP Mallikarjun Kharge be allowed to speak, but chairperson C P Radhakrishnan ticked them off, saying they were still in “Emergency mode” and that they must also listen to others. As opposition members continued to raise slogans, agriculture minister Shivraj Chouhan accused them of indulging in “sadak-chhap (cheap)” politics and said, “They’re doing petty politics, playing with the dignity of the House. Democracy is being destroyed…”. RS was adjourned for the day around 11:20 pm.
