Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day amid opposition protests over Ram Temple donation scam

Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan declines Congress demand to allow Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak immediately, says party is still in “Emergency mode”

Published: July 31, 2026 09:34 pm IST | New Delhi

By: The Hindu Bureau

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day on Friday (July 31, 2026), shortly after meeting at 11 a.m., amid sloganeering by Opposition members. MPs stood up from their seats, raising slogans over the alleged Ram Temple donation theft case and demanding a response from Home Minister Amit Shah on the police action against protesters on July 20.

Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan declined the Congress’s demand to allow Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak immediately, stating that the party was still in “Emergency mode”.

“You are in Emergency mode till today. You want everybody to listen, but you don’t want to listen to anyone. This is dictatorship. You don’t want to value democratic values,” the Chairman said.

He accused the Opposition of not listening to others while demanding time for itself.

Mr. Radhakrishnan later permitted Mr. Kharge to speak but ruled that no notices under Rule 267 — which allows for suspension of the day’s business to discuss the issue at hand — would be admitted after the Leader of the Opposition sought to raise certain issues under the provision.

The Rule 267 notice submitted by Mr. Kharge pertained to the alleged misappropriation of funds and irregularities in land acquisition for the Ayodhya Ram Temple. Opposition members raised slogans over paper leaks and demanded that Mr. Shah come to the House.

The Opposition has been seeking a statement from the Home Minister on the alleged use of force against protesting students, including the use of pellet guns, and has also demanded his resignation over the issue.

The Chairman, however, said, “What does the Home Minister have to do with the Zero Hour?” As Opposition members continued to raise slogans, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused them of indulging in “sadak-chhap (cheap)” politics and “playing with the dignity of the House”.

Even as the Chairman allowed members to raise issues listed for Zero Hour, the Opposition continued its protests.

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