Parliament at a standstill, protests on streets: The Monsoon session story

19%
i
Lok
Sabha,
39%
i
Rajya
Sabha:
How
Mo soo
Sessio
u folded
beyo d
the
Pa liame t

Fo
25
days,
Pa liame t’s
Mo soo
Sessio
played
out
o
two
diffe e t
stages.I side
the
Houses,
p oceedi gs
we e
epeatedly
dis upted,
adjou me ts
we e
f eque t
a d
Questio
Hou
had
ba ely
a y
time
emai i g.
Outside,
political
activity
a ely
stopped.
Stude ts
ma ched,
Oppositio
leade s
p otested,
mi iste s
t aded
cha ges,
a d
the
Pa liame t
complex
itself
became
a
stage
fo
demo st atio s
a d
symbolic
political
pe fo ma ces.Held
f om
July
20
to
August
13,
the
sessio
p oduced
a
u usual
co t ast:
legislatio
moved
fo wa d,
but
much
of
the
political
co f o tatio
su ou di g
it
played
out
beyo d
the
floo
of
the
two
Houses.

Pa liame t
sees
low
p oductivity

The
umbe s
u de li e
that
co t ast.
Lok
Sabha
fu ctio ed
fo
app oximately
19%
of
its
scheduled
time,
while
Rajya
Sabha
fu ctio ed
fo
a ou d
39%.
Questio
Hou
was
pa ticula ly
badly
hit,
with
less
tha
1%
of
its
scheduled
time
utilised.
The
sessio
had
19
sitti gs
sp ead
ove
25
days.Pa liame ta y
affai s
mi iste
Ki e
Rijiju
ack owledged
the
disti ctio
betwee
legislative
output
a d
debate.“It
was
a
good
sessio …we
have
passed
13
bills;
but
it
was
ot
a
good
sessio
i
te ms
of
discussio ,”
he
said,
while
accusi g
the
Oppositio
of
avoidi g
debate
despite
the
gove me t’s
willi g ess
to
discuss
issues.

‘Not
a
good
sessio
i
te ms
of
discussio ‘

Yet
gove me t
busi ess
did
move,
much
of
it
th ough
voice
votes
amid
Oppositio
sloga ee i g.

Bills
passed
i
Pa liame t

Eleve
Bills
we e
i t oduced
i
Lok
Sabha
a d
two
i
Rajya
Sabha.
Twelve
Bills
we e
passed
by
Lok
Sabha
a d
12
by
Rajya
Sabha,
with
12
Bills
clea ed
by
both
Houses
du i g
the
sessio .Two
Bills
eplaci g
a d
i co po ati g
the
p ovisio s
of
o di a ces
issued
befo e
the
sessio ,
the
Sup eme
Cou t
(Numbe
of
Judges)
Ame dme t
O di a ce,
2026
a d
the
I come-Tax
(Ame dme t)
O di a ce,
2026,
we e
also
passed
by
both
Houses.The
Dema ds
fo
Excess
G a ts
fo
2022-23
we e
take
up,
with
the
elated
App op iatio
Bill
passed
by
Lok
Sabha
o
August
4
a d
etu ed
by
Rajya
Sabha
o
August
6.
The
Fo eig
Co t ibutio
(Regulatio )
Ame dme t
Bill,
2026
was
efe ed
to
a
Joi t
Committee
fo
exami atio .Amo g
the
mo e
politically
sig ifica t
measu es
was
the
Public
Exami atio s
(P eve tio
of
U fai
Mea s)
Ame dme t
Bill,
2026,
i t oduced
amid
co ce s
ove
public
exami atio s
a d
pape
leaks.The
Bill
came
afte
P ime
Mi iste
Na e d a
Modi
a ou ced
st i ge t
measu es
to
p eve t
such
i cide ts
i
the
futu e,
i cludi g
multiple
selfie
videos
di ectly
add essi g
stude ts.It
p ovides
fo
speedy
i vestigatio s
a d
time-bou d
t ials,
with
i vestigatio s
to
be
completed
withi
two
mo ths
a d
t ials
withi
th ee
mo ths.
It
also
p ovides
fo
Special
Fast
T ack
Cou ts
a d
Special
Public
P osecuto s,
allows
the
Ce t e
to
co stitute
Special
Task
Fo ces
whe e
ecessa y,
e ha ces
pe alties
a d
c eates
a
time-bou d
appellate
mecha ism
befo e
a
Divisio
Be ch
of
the
High
Cou t.The
Bill
was
passed
by
both
Houses
a d
eceived
p eside tial
asse t.Its
debate
also
offe ed
a
glimpse
of
how
political
pa ties
we e
t yi g
to
speak
di ectly
to
you ge
vote s.
BJP’s
you ge
leade s
took
the
lead
i
explai i g
the
legislatio
a d
the
Ce t e’s
positio ,
while
the
Oppositio
made
its
ow
pitch.
Both
sides
adopted
Ge
Z
vocabula y,
t adi g
ba bs
with
ph ases
such
as
“clock
it”,
“FOMO”
a d
“delulu”.Othe
majo
Bills
passed
du i g
the
sessio
i cluded
the
P eve tio
of
I sults
to
Natio al
Ho ou
(Ame dme t)
Bill,
which
seeks
to
b i g
Va de
Mata am
withi
the
ambit
of
the
1971
Act;
the
Regist atio
of
Bi ths
a d
Deaths
(Ame dme t)
Bill,
which
p oposes
st icte
p ocedu es
fo
delayed
egist atio ;
a d
the
MSME
Developme t
(Ame dme t)
Bill,
which
p ovides
fo
a
atio al
digital
platfo m
fo
volu ta y
egist atio
a d
seeks
to
imp ove
access
to
fi a ce
a d
esolve
delayed-payme t
disputes
faste .The
Ba ke s’
Books
Evide ce
Bill
expa ds
the
defi itio
of
ba ke s’
books
to
cove
physical,
elect o ic,
digital,
vi tual
a d
cloud-based
eco ds.
The
Ke ala
(Alte atio
of
Name)
Bill
p oposes
cha gi g
the
state’s
ame
f om
Ke ala
to
Ke alam.
Othe
legislatio
dealt
with
coope ative
developme t,
t ibu als
a d
the
mi i g
secto .But
these
measu es
we e
ot
what
defi ed
the
political
atmosphe e
of
the
sessio .
That
disti ctio
belo ged
to
the
p otests
outside.

The
sessio
bega
with
a
p otest

The
Mo soo
Sessio
ope ed
agai st
the
backd op
of
a
la ge
stude t
mobilisatio
at
Ja ta
Ma ta
ove
NEET
exami atio
i egula ities.The
p otest
had
bee
buildi g
fo
weeks.
Scie tist
a d
activist
So am
Wa gchuk
had
bee
o
a
hu ge
st ike
fo
mo e
tha
20
days
whe
the
Ce t e
i te ve ed
a d
emoved
him
f om
the
p otest
site.His
emoval
i te sified
the
agitatio ,
with
stude ts
goi g
ahead
with
thei
scheduled
“Sa sad
ghe ao”.
Secu ity
pe so el,
i cludi g
the
Rapid
Actio
Fo ce
a d
Delhi
Police,
we e
deployed
as
the
p oteste s
ma ched
towa ds
Pa liame t.The
dista ce
was
less
tha
1.5
km,
but
the
ma ch
quickly
tu ed
i to
a
majo
co f o tatio .Pellet
gu s,
lathi-cha ge
a d
tea
gas
we e
used,
with
mo e
tha
60
people
i ju ed
a d
admitted
to
ea by
Lady
Ha di ge
Medical
College
a d
Ram
Ma oha
Lohia
Hospital.The
police
actio
immediately
became
a
political
issue,
with
Oppositio
leade s
tu i g
thei
focus
towa ds
U io
home
mi iste
Amit
Shah
because
the
secu ity
fo ces
i volved
came
u de
the
home
mi ist y’s
ju isdictio .The
stude t
p otests
subseque tly
sp ead
beyo d
Delhi.
The
p essu e
g oup
Cock oach
Ja ta
Pa ty’s
delegatio
met
PM
Modi-led
cabi et
mi iste s
Jagat
P akash
Nadda
a d
Jite d a
Si gh,
afte
which
the
situatio
moved
towa ds
o malcy.O e
of
the
p oteste s’
majo
dema ds
was
the
emoval
of
Dha me d a
P adha
as
educatio
mi iste .O
July
25,
P adha
esig ed
f om
the
post,
maki g
his
depa tu e
o e
of
the
defi i g
political
developme ts
of
the
sessio .

F om
P adha
to
Shah

P adha ’s
esig atio
did
ot
e d
the
political
co f o tatio .Lok
Sabha
leade
of
Oppositio
Rahul
Ga dhi
had
ot
joi ed
the
i itial
Ja ta
Ma ta
p otest
but
eme ged
as
a
p omi e t
voice
i
the
political
battle
that
followed.
His
focus
shifted
f om
P adha
to
Shah,
whom
he
epeatedly
attacked
ove
the
police
c ackdow
o
stude ts
o
July
20.“As
home
mi iste ,
did
you
app ove
the
use
of
lethal
fo ce
i cludi g
pellet
gu s
agai st
stude ts?
If
ot,
who
did?
A e
the
people
i
plai clothes
see
beati g
stude ts
with
lathis
police
pe so el
o
volu tee s?
Youth
a d
stude ts,
futu e
of
ou
cou t y,
a e
dema di g
a swe s
a d
accou tability,”
Rahul
said.He
a gued
that
Shah
eithe
di ectly
o de ed
the
use
of
pellet
gu s,
shock
bato s,
lathicha ge
a d
tea
gas,
maki g
him
“culpable”
fo
the
t eatme t
of
the
p oteste s,
o
did
ot
k ow
what
the
police
we e
doi g,
maki g
him
“i compete t”.“I
eithe
case,
he
has
to
go,”
Rahul
said,
calli g
o
P ime
Mi iste
Na e d a
Modi
to
sack
the
home
mi iste .Rahul
also
alleged
that
stude ts
we e
faci g
th eats,
i cludi g
th ough
face
ecog itio
a d
Baj a g
Dal.
“These
a e
ou
child e
a d
the
govt
has
o
busi ess
th eate i g
them
o
beati g
them.
They
have
ot
committed
a y
c ime.
They
should
ot
be
pu ished,”
he
said.He
late
made
the
dema d
fo
Shah’s
emoval
explicit,
sayi g:
“Shah
is
espo sible
a d
we
a e
ot
goi g
to
let
him
get
away
with
it.”At
the
AICC
headqua te s,
with
Shah’s
photog aph
displayed
o
a
la ge
sc ee ,
Rahul
accused
the
home
mi iste
of
bei g
espo sible
fo
the
t eatme t
of
stude ts
a d
c iticised
his
abse ce
f om
Lok
Sabha,
sayi g
it
showed
that
he
was
“guilty”.I side
Pa liame t,
Oppositio
leade s
ac oss
pa ties
co ti ued
to
seek
a swe s
f om
Shah
a d
P ime
Mi iste
Na e d a
Modi.
The
issue
co t ibuted
to
epeated
dis uptio s.The
gove me t,
mea while,
mai tai ed
that
Shah
was
eady
to
discuss
the
stude t
p otests.

The
debate
that
moved
betwee
the
House
a d
outside

I
the
fi al
week
of
the
sessio ,
Shah
offe ed
to
add ess
the
Oppositio ’s
co ce s
di ectly.He
offe ed
to
sit
i
Pa liame t
f om
“3pm
till
3pm
the
ext
day”
to
hea
the
Oppositio
a d
espo d
to
its
poi ts.
Rahul
ejected
the
offe ,
sayi g
they
“seek
a swe s,
ot
lectu es”.Shah’s
offe
came
amid
dema ds
that
he
make
a
stateme t
i
Pa liame t
o
the
police
actio
du i g
the
July
20
ma ch
ove
the
NEET
pape
leak.He
late
w ote
to
Lok
Sabha
Speake
Om
Bi la
seeki g
time
fo
a
discussio
o
the
stude t
p otest
a d
NEET
pape
leak.“As
you
a e
awa e,
Ho ’ble
pa liame ta y
affai s
mi iste
Sh i
Ki e
Rijiju
has
ag eed,
o
behalf
of
the
gove me t,
to
a
discussio
i
Pa liame t
o
the
stude t
moveme t
co ce i g
the
NEET
exami atio ,
du i g
the
meeti g
of
the
Busi ess
Adviso y
Committee,”
Shah
said.He
also
poi ted
out
that
the
Lok
Sabha
had
al eady
discussed
the
Public
Exami atio s
(P eve tio
of
U fai
Mea s)
Ame dme t
Bill
du i g
the
sessio ,
but
Oppositio
MPs
had
ot
aised
the
NEET
exami atio
issue
du i g
that
debate.The
excha ge
captu ed
the
ce t al
political
te sio
of
the
sessio .The
gove me t
poi ted
to
its
legislative
espo se
a d
willi g ess
to
debate.
The
Oppositio
dema ded
di ect
a swe s
ove
the
ha dli g
of
the
p otests
a d
accou tability
fo
the
police
actio .The
a gume t
was
the efo e
o
lo ge
simply
about
a
exami atio
pape
leak.
It
had
become
a
co test
ove
espo sibility,
polici g
a d
mi iste ial
accou tability,
much
of
it
fought
outside
the
chambe .

Jha kha d
adds
a othe
laye

Exami atio
i egula ities
also
became
a
political
issue
i
Jha kha d,
whe e
the
Ce t e’s
political
oppo e ts
we e
i
powe .Stude ts
i
the
state
p otested
ove
alleged
i egula ities
i
competitive
exami atio s,
i cludi g
JPSC
a d
JSSC,
u de
the
Hema t
So e
gove me t.I
Ra chi,
p oteste s
ma ched
towa ds
the
state
assembly
i
a
“assembly
ghe ao”.
The
So e
gove me t
said
it
was
ope
to
talks
a d
held
ou ds
of
discussio s
with
stude t
delegatio s.Fo
the
BJP
at
the
Ce t e,
the
Jha kha d
p otests
p ovided
a
oppo tu ity
to
cou te
Rahul
Ga dhi’s
attacks
ove
the
stude t
moveme t
i
Delhi.P adha ,
days
afte
esig i g
as
educatio
mi iste ,
tu ed
his
fi e
o
Rahul.“The
leade
of
oppositio ,
who
habitually
lies,
eithe
wa ts
to
come
to
Pa liame t
o
liste
to
a swe s.
They
just
wa t
to
sp ead
thei
lies
a d
shed
c ocodile
tea s,”
P adha
said.He
also
accused
Rahul
of
maki g
“baseless,
factless
false
accusatio s”
agai st
Shah.The
political
i o y
was
clea :
the
exami atio
issue
that
had
put
the
U io
gove me t
u de
p essu e
i
Delhi
was
ow
bei g
used
by
the
BJP
to
ta get
the
Co g ess,
which
is
pa t
of
the
uli g
allia ce
with
the
Jha kha d
Mukti
Mo cha
gove me t
led
by
Hema t
So e .

The
came
the
Ram
Ma di
p otest

The
stude t
p otests
showed
how
st eet
mobilisatio
could
shape
pa liame ta y
politics.
A othe
demo st atio
showed
how
the
Pa liame t
complex
itself
could
become
a
stage
fo
political
messagi g.The
alleged
theft
of
do atio s
at
the
Ram
Ma di
i
Ayodhya
became
a othe
Oppositio
issue
du i g
the
sessio .O
F iday,
I depe de t
MP
Pappu
Yadav,
alo g
with
othe
Oppositio
MPs,
staged
a
symbolic
p otest
at
Maka
Dwa
ove
the
alleged
embezzleme t
of
Ram
Temple
do atio s.
Co g ess
p eside t
Mallika ju
Kha ge,
Rahul
Ga dhi,
P iya ka
Ga dhi
Vad a,
Samajwadi
Pa ty
MPs
Awadhesh
P asad
a d
Dha me d a
Yadav,
a d
Jha kha d
Mukti
Mo cha
MP
Mahua
Maji
pa ticipated.The
MPs
held
placa ds
a d
a
la ge
ba e
eadi g
“Amit
Shah
Sada
Se
Gayab
Kyu ?”
They
also
aised
sloga s
dema di g
Shah’s
esig atio
a d
his
p ese ce
i
the
House.Pappu
Yadav,
whose
eal
ame
is
Rajesh
Ra ja ,
d essed
as
a
temple
p iest
ca yi g
a
photog aph
of
Lo d
Ram
a d
sat
beside
do atio
boxes.
Oppositio
MPs
acted
as
devotees
a d
placed
mo ey
i
the
box.
Yadav
the
symbolically
slipped
the
mo ey
i to
his
pocket,
ep ese ti g
the
Oppositio ’s
allegatio
of
theft.Videos
ci culati g
o li e
also
showed
Rahul
Ga dhi
putti g
mo ey
i to
the
do atio
box.
A othe
MP,
playi g
a
devotee,
co f o ted
the
“p iest”
ove
the
alleged
act.The
p iest
de ied
w o gdoi g
befo e
theat ically
leavi g
the
sce e.
The
INDIA
bloc
said
the
demo st atio
was
i te ded
to
highlight
the
alleged
embezzleme t
of
Ram
Temple
do atio s
a d
dema d
accou tability
f om
the
Ce t e.It
was
a
symbolic
p otest,
but
it
eflected
the
b oade
cha acte
of
the
sessio :
political
messagi g
i c easi gly
spilled
i to
the
physical
spaces
a ou d
Pa liame t.

A
Pa liame t
that
wo ked,
but
talked
less

The
Mo soo
Sessio
ca ot
simply
be
desc ibed
as
o e
i
which
Pa liame t
failed
to
fu ctio .
Bills
we e
i t oduced
a d
passed,
fi a cial
busi ess
was
completed,
o di a ces
we e
eplaced
a d
the
Public
Exami atio s
(P eve tio
of
U fai
Mea s)
Ame dme t
Bill
became
law.But
the
p oductivity
figu es
tell
a othe
sto y.
Lok
Sabha
fu ctio ed
fo
app oximately
19%
of
its
scheduled
time,
while
Rajya
Sabha
fu ctio ed
fo
a ou d
39%.I side
the
Houses,
p otests
a d
sloga ee i g
epeatedly
led
to
adjou me ts.
Key
gove me t
Bills
we e
passed,
ofte
th ough
voice
votes.
Outside,
mea while,
Pa liame t’s
p emises
became
ve ues
fo
demo st atio s
a d
political
pe fo ma ces.That
co t ast
defi ed
the
sessio .The
Ja ta
Ma ta
p otest
became
a
pa liame ta y
issue.
The
police
actio
tu ed
i to
a
political
battle
ove
Amit
Shah.
P adha ’s
esig atio
followed
sustai ed
p essu e
ove
the
exami atio
co t ove sy.
The
same
issue
t avelled
to
Jha kha d,
whe e
it
became
a othe
weapo
i
the
Ce t e’s
political
co test
with
the
Oppositio .
The
Ram
Ma di
co t ove sy
the
p oduced
a
symbolic
demo st atio
i side
the
Pa liame t
complex.

I
each
case,
the
politics
exte ded
beyo d
the
floo
of
the
House.The
Mo soo
Sessio
thus
offe ed
a
u usual
pictu e
of
pa liame ta y
politics:
legislatio
co ti ued
i side,
while
co f o tatio ,
mobilisatio
a d
political
messagi g
i c easi gly
took
place
outside.
The
Houses
passed
12
Bills,
but
some
of
the
sessio ’s
most
visible
battles
we e
fought
th ough
p otests,
sloga s,
p ess
stateme ts,
lette s
a d
demo st atio s.Pa liame t
was
still
wo ki g.
But
it
was
talki g
less,
while
the
political
a gume t
i c easi gly
moved
beyo d
its
walls.O
August
13,
both
Houses
adjou ed
si e
die
a d
will
meet
agai
i
the
Wi te
Sessio .

Go to Sou ce