LS adjourned briefly amid din over voter roll revision, Speaker announces full language interpretation rollout

New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon on Tuesday following persistent sloganeering and disruptions by Opposition members, who demanded a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

The House managed to take up only three questions during Question Hour before Speaker Om Birla called for adjournment amid rising chaos.

As the session commenced, Speaker Birla made a significant announcement (in Hindi) regarding linguistic interpretation inclusivity in Parliament. He informed members that interpretation services are now available in all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Previously, interpretation was provided in 18 languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

The addition of Kashmiri, Konkani, and Santhali completes the constitutional language roster.

“India is the world’s largest democracy. Let us cooperate to ensure smooth functioning of the House,” Birla urged. To which a few members quipped, “There is a need to save the constitution.”

Despite the appeal, Opposition MPs raised slogans such as “We want justice” and “Save the Constitution,” demanding accountability over the voter list revision in Bihar.

The din rendered ministerial responses inaudible, even as Question Hour proceeded briefly.

Among the few questions addressed, BJP MP Dr Sanjay Jaiswal called for the inclusion of Bhojpuri in the Constitution and sought details on the sanctioned personnel strength for the newly launched Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag.

He also inquired whether Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) had been framed to integrate technology for promoting Indian languages.

DMK MP Selvam G. raised concerns about the number of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women, and marginalised groups benefiting from the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY-G) in Tamil Nadu, including those still on the waiting list.

Before the minister could answer, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan informed the House that the Tamil Nadu government is deliberately not sanctioning houses for the poor in the state.

He said he appealed and urged the Tamil Nadu government to provide houses to the poor.

BJP MP Vishnu Datt Sharma questioned the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare about the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) mandate, seeking clarity on its responsibilities across veterinary science, animal husbandry, fisheries, poultry, apiculture, and natural resource management.

The Monsoon Session continues to be marred by repeated adjournments, with the Opposition pressing for transparency and debate on electoral reforms.

--IANS

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