Rijiju’s warning turns real: Govt passes 8 bills while opposition protests

He accused opposition parties of having 'no trust' in institutions like the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, or Parliament itself.

The Parliament passed eight bills in a single day on Monday, signalling that the government would advance its legislative agenda without waiting for opposition cooperation. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said repeated disruptions over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar had left no choice but to move forward.

“The country’s and Parliament’s time cannot be wasted on one issue every day. Therefore, we will pass important bills,” Rijiju told reporters, accusing the opposition of being “interested only in headline management” rather than legislative work.

Bills cleared in both Houses

In the Lok Sabha, four bills were passed:

• The National Sports Governance Bill
• The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill
• The Income-Tax (No 2) Bill
• The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill

In the Rajya Sabha, members passed the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill and the Merchant Shipping Bill. The Upper House also returned the Manipur Appropriation Bill and the Manipur GST (Amendment) Bill, already cleared by the Lok Sabha.

Opposition protests over Bihar electoral rolls

The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, alleging irregularities ahead of the state’s assembly elections. The government has refused, arguing that the functioning of a constitutional authority, the Election Commission, cannot be debated in Parliament.

“You have raised the issue one day, let it be. What is the point in raising the same issue every day?” Rijiju said.

Rijiju hints at early end to Monsoon session

The Monsoon session, which began on June 21, is scheduled to run until August 21 but has already seen 14 days lost to disruptions, except for two days of discussion on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack. Rijiju suggested the government may consider winding up early if the deadlock continues.

Sharp criticism of opposition strategy

Rijiju alleged that some opposition MPs had admitted privately that they were being directed by their leaders to disrupt proceedings daily. “If you are going to resort to disruptions every day, how will you serve the people?” he asked.

He accused opposition parties of having 'no trust' in institutions like the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, or Parliament itself.

On opposition’s EC march

Commenting on the opposition’s planned march to the Election Commission, Rijiju noted that the poll body had invited a 30-member delegation with two representatives from each party. “If they cannot decide on their leaders, why seek an appointment from the Election Commission? Now Kharge says the entire opposition is VIP. Will all 150 members go to the CEC’s room for a meeting?” he remarked.

Final appeal to opposition

Rijiju urged opposition MPs to participate in debates, stressing that they still had the right to move amendments, submit dissent notes, and present their views. “Don’t say later that you were not allowed to participate,” he said, adding that the government would continue passing bills with or without them.

(With inputs from PTI)