Image Source: Agencies

Aug 13, 2025: Shrugging off opposition protests, the government on Tuesday continued to push ahead with its legislative agenda, ensuring the passage of six bills in Parliament, before it took a five-day break for the Independence Day celebrations.

In another significant development, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced in the House a three-member panel to probe allegations against High Court Judge Yashwant Varma, embroiled in the cash-at-home row, after admitting a multi-party notice for his removal, setting in motion the process of impeachment.
The Lok Sabha passed two bills ‘The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill’ and ‘The Indian Ports Bill’ after brief debates amid opposition protests on the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.

During some heated moments in the Lok Sabha, opposition members tore papers and threw the pieces at the chair, drawing the presiding officer's strong disapproval. After brief debates, the opposition walked out of the Rajya Sabha and the government passed four bills, two each for the sports and finance ministries.
After opposition members protested against the revision of Bihar's electoral rolls, the Rajya Sabha passed the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, by voice vote. After Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded to a brief debate on both bills, the Rajya Sabha sent the Income Tax Bill and the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill back to the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha approved the two bills on Monday. Additionally, Sitharaman urged the Chair to refer the bill to a select House committee for bare-bones scrutiny and introduced it in the Lok Sabha to amend the insolvency and bankruptcy code. After a five-day Independence Day break, both Houses of Parliament will meet again on August 18.

The opposition protests in the Lok Sabha took a nasty turn when some members tore some papers and threw the pieces at the Chair. The opposition, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, has degraded the House's dignity by insulting the Chair. Rijiju stated that although the BJP was in opposition for a number of years, it never engaged in such tactics. The chairperson, Jagdambika Pal, criticized Gaurav Gogoi, the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, for encouraging Congress members to enter the House Well and throw papers at the Chair. He said it has lowered the dignity of the House.

A three-member panel to investigate allegations against Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Varma was announced earlier in the day by Speaker Om Birla. At the time, the House was in order. The inquiry committee comprises Supreme Court judge Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Karnataka High Court advocate B V Acharya, a 91-year-old veteran.

Birla stated that 146 members of the Lok Sabha, including Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Ravi Shankar Prasad, had submitted a proposal to remove Justice Varma on July 21. On March 14, after a fire broke out at his official residence, Justice Varma was moved from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court. The burnt currency notes were found at his official residence, so he was moved back there. The parliamentary committee examining two bills to implement the system of holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously was on Tuesday granted a fresh extension till the last week of the Winter session.

The House voiced its approval of a motion proposed by P P Choudhary, chairperson of the Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP). The motion grants the panel time to present its report until the first day of the final week of the Winter session in 2025.

Rijiju made the announcement on Monday that the government would move forward with the legislative agenda without the participation of the opposition parties and criticized them for their numerous attempts to disrupt both Houses of Parliament. The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which began on July 21, is scheduled to conclude on August 21.