The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm on Monday, 27 July after the Opposition continued to disrupt proceedings over the alleged NEET paper leak and police action against protesting students — marking yet another sitting day of the Monsoon Session lost to disorder, with no legislative business transacted in the Upper House.

How the disruption unfolded

The House had already been adjourned once till noon. When it reconvened after the hour-long break, Congress member Pramod Tiwari of Rajasthan immediately raised the NEET paper leak issue, invoking Article 75 of the Constitution to argue that the Council of Ministers was collectively responsible to the people and that Parliament was the supreme forum to account for what had occurred.

Tiwari alleged that students — including girls — had been physically assaulted during protests, and demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah appear before the House to explain the government's position.

Opposition pushes for Rule 267 suspension

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) member Tiruchi Siva of Tamil Nadu intervened to state that his party had filed a notice under Rule 267 seeking a suspension of business to debate a proposed ban on the NEET examination. He acknowledged that the Chairman had precedents against accepting such notices repeatedly, but urged that an exception be made given the gravity of the situation.

Siva added that while the government retained broad powers, it could not restore the lives of students who had died by suicide over the NEET controversy — a pointed reference to reported student deaths linked to the examination's alleged irregularities.

CPI(M) member raises the temperature further

Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan allowed Communist Party of India (Marxist) member John Brittas to make a relevant point. Brittas said that India — described globally as the mother of democracy — had witnessed its capital, in his words, 'rinsed with the blood of innocent children of the country.' Before another member could complete a reference to the Home Minister's earlier remark that students were above all posts, the Chairman adjourned the House till 2 pm, citing unabating disorder.

Six days in, Upper House remains paralysed

This was the sixth sitting day and the beginning of the second week of the Monsoon Session. Notably, no substantial legislative business has been transacted in the Rajya Sabha since the session opened, as continuous disruptions over the NEET controversy and related student protests have consumed every sitting. The pattern mirrors previous sessions where a single charged issue brought the Upper House to a near-complete standstill for days at a stretch.

With the Opposition showing no signs of relenting and the government yet to offer a floor statement from the Home Minister, the prospect of the session recovering lost legislative time appears increasingly uncertain.