Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm after Oppn protests; minister says no shortage of electricity

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 p.m. on Monday after Opposition members continued their protests during Question Hour, drowning out proceedings for the second time in the day.

The House reassembled at noon following a brief earlier adjournment.

Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan allowed Question Hour to proceed. However, Opposition members immediately raised slogans including “Grih Mantri Sadan Me Aao”, “Isteefa Do” and “LOP ko bolne Do”, creating a loud disturbance that disrupted the session.

Amid the din, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal attempted to reply to questions on reforms under the Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2026. His responses were largely inaudible as they were lost in the continuous shouting by Opposition benches.

BJP member Laxmi Verma (Chhattisgarh) asked her maiden question, seeking to know whether the government had any plans to set up a power plant in any part of Chhattisgarh.

She cited Baloda Bazar district, a major cement manufacturing hub, as an example of an area that requires additional power support for industrial growth.

Responding, Manohar Lal said there was no power shortage anywhere in the country.

He informed the House that India had successfully met its highest-ever peak demand of 270.8 GW and currently had an available generation capacity of 284 GW.

The government, he added, was preparing to meet a projected peak demand of 300 GW next year. Each state has its own power plans, the minister noted. Chhattisgarh itself faced no shortage. If any local issue related to project delays arose, the government would address it when brought to its notice, he said.

Despite repeated appeals, the Opposition showed no signs of relenting.

Seeing no let-up in the pandemonium, Chairman Radhakrishnan adjourned the House till 2 p.m.

The repeated disruptions prevented a smooth Question Hour and underlined the continuing standoff between the treasury benches and the Opposition over demands for discussions on the alleged July 20 police atrocity on students in Delhi, the Prime Minister’s and Home Minister’s statements related to police action and various issues.

The House is scheduled to reconvene in the afternoon for further business.

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