‘Can’t Use Issues To Disrupt Parliament’: Rijiju Slams Opposition Ahead Of Day 2 Of Winter Session

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday criticised the Opposition for what he described as a deliberate attempt to disrupt proceedings in Parliament by constantly flagging “new issues” despite the government’s readiness to hold discussions on multiple fronts.

Ahead of the second day of the Winter Session, Rijiju said that the legislative agenda had already been finalised and that the Opposition was being unreasonable in insisting on fresh points of contention.

“There is no need for the Opposition to keep searching for issues just to create a ruckus,” Rijiju said, adding that the Winter Session’s business schedule had been clearly laid out.

He said that many subjects pushed by the Opposition have already been listed for deliberation.

“We will consider many of the issues raised by the Opposition as well, the discussion points have already been set,” he stressed.

However, he firmly objected to what he described as the politicisation of every matter.

“There is no need to keep looking for new issues just to disturb the Parliament. Every issue is important in its own place. But turning every issue into a weapon and not allowing Parliament to function is not right,” he said.

Rijiju also addressed the political storm around the Centre’s directive mandating the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi mobile application on all new handsets.

Responding to claims that the app amounted to state surveillance, he dismissed the characterisation and urged the Opposition not to sensationalise the matter.

The Department of Telecommunications’ order, outlined in a report, requires manufacturers and importers to preload the app within 90 days and push it to devices already in sales channels through software updates.

The app enables users to report fraudulent calls, lost devices, and IMEI-related misuse.

As disruptions persisted on Monday over SIR, both Houses witnessed repeated adjournments.

Despite the ongoing protests, the government remains set to move ahead with the legislative agenda listed for the day, including the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

Rijiju’s comments come a day after he told Rajya Sabha members that while the government is open to debating any matter, the Opposition must not impose rigid timelines for discussions.

Responding to their demand for an urgent debate on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, he had said on Monday, “Nobody is undermining any matter which was brought out by the Opposition parties yesterday in the all-party meeting or today.”

Meanwhile, the Opposition’s push for a discussion on SIR continued on Tuesday, with MPs from the INDIA bloc staging a protest outside Parliament.

According to news agency ANI, Congress MP Manickam Tagore reiterated the bloc’s demand for a full debate, arguing that the issue concerns the “right to vote of the citizens.”

He referred to large-scale deletions in some states and criticised what he described as procedural pressures on citizens and Booth Level Officers (BLOs).