Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. File
| Photo Credit: Sansad TV via PTI
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for about half an hour on Friday (August 7, 2026) morning as Opposition members continued to protest in the House, demanding the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah to respond on police action on students who protested against the alleged NEET paper leak.
Opposition MPs led by the Congress raised slogans seeking the presence of the Home Minister in the House, which were countered by the Treasury benches. Amid the ruckus, Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan adjourned the proceedings till 12 p.m.
Soon after the listed papers were laid on the table of the House, leader of the Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue of the continued absence of the Home Minister from the House during the monsoon session, which started on July 20.
He said the government was not even respecting the Chairman’s comments and insulting the House.
On Thursday (August 6, 2026), Mr. Radhakrishnan told Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to “echo the sentiments of the Opposition” to Mr. Shah and “consider the request” for his presence in the House.
Opposition parties have been demanding a statement in the House from Shah on the July 20 police action on protesters marching towards Parliament.
Mr. Rijiju, however, said there was no direction from the Chair and that the Leader of the Opposition was misleading the House.
Mr. Rijiju told the protesting Opposition members in the Lok Sabha that Home Minister Amit Shah has been coming to Parliament every day, and it is not right to protest over his name every day. “Amit Shah ji is such a person whose name itself is enough to make terrorists shiver,” he said.
Ministers attend the Parliamentary proceedings according to the agenda of their Ministries, he said, adding the Opposition cannot decide which Minister will come to the House and when.
“You had given an observation,” Mr. Rijiju told the Chairman. “No direction was given by the Chair.”
He went on to state that the Congress and other Opposition parties raise slogans and then walk out of Parliament, and that he condemns this act.
Amid heavy sloganeering, the Lok Sabha passed a Bill pertaining to the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) industry. The House was adjourned until Monday (August 10, 2026).
(With PTI inputs.)
Published – August 07, 2026 12:24 pm IST
