The first day of the second half of the Budget session began with heated exchanges as Opposition members demanded a discussion on the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Before the House proceedings began, Opposition members were seen standing with placards in the Parliament premises, shouting slogans against the government and questioning the prime minister’s silence on the conflict. The Lok Sabha took up a discussion on the no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla. The motion alleged partisan behaviour, including the suspension of MPs, and failure to fill the deputy speaker’s post etc.

Supporting the no-confidence motion, K Radhakrishnan said there have been only three occasions in our parliamentary history when a motion of no-confidence had been raised against the speaker. On all those occasions, the deputy speaker presided over the discussion. That was an established traditional practice to ensure parliamentary neutrality and justice. Unfortunately, the position of the deputy speaker has remained vacant for the past 12 years. It is not merely a lapse in a standard procedure; it is a serious disregard for our parliamentary traditions. The speaker is the representative of all members of the House, including both the ruling party and the Opposition. However, in recent times, we are witnessing a shrinking space for democratic discussions in the House. Opposition members are often denied opportunities to raise the issues of the people. We see a situation where laws are passed in haste without providing opportunities for important discussions. This House is not merely a machine for passing government legislation; it is the nation’s highest democratic forum where the concerns and needs of the people must be discussed freely.

In the Rajya Sabha, V Sivadasan took part in a discussion on the working of the ministry of rural development. Nathuram Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi, and his followers are now killing people-oriented schemes named after Gandhi. Rural India is in a severe crisis. This government has reduced the subsidy for solar and wind energy projects and told people to use LPG. They brought a scheme, Ujjwala, forcing rural people to use LPG. But they have also reduced the subsidy for LPG. After the American aggression on Iran, thousands of questions are being raised before us. The price of LPG is skyrocketing. We all know what the real situation is. Modi is very close to Trump. But what is its use for the nation? In villages, thousands of hotels have shut down. Crores of women are crying. This is the present condition of rural India. What is the reason? Because of the policy of this government. Migration from rural India to cities is increasing. Migrant workers are not getting minimum facilities in cities. In the capital city, people are getting only polluted water and polluted air because of the policies of this government. The Union government is not concerned about the people of India. It is concerned only about corporate houses.

Speaking on the supplementary demands for grants (second batch) in the Lok Sabha, Amra Ram said that due to the ongoing war in West Asia, there is an outcry across the entire country regarding LPG supplies. In Rajasthan, there is a factory for refilling commercial cylinders, which employs 3,000 people. The owner has shut it down, citing a lack of gas and a shortage of cylinders. There is widespread distress throughout the nation. Our prime minister visited Israel. Two days later, an attack was launched on Iran, which has led to the situation we face today. Numerous industries have shut down. Countless small restaurants and hotels have closed their doors. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected. Approximately ten million people from our country are employed in the Arab nations, and the substantial amount of foreign exchange they remit makes a massive contribution to our economy. Today, everyone is anxious. Their families are anxious. They themselves are anxious, wondering how they can possibly return home. Our prime minister claims that arrangements have been put in place for them. But where exactly are these arrangements? Several hundred thousand people from my Lok Sabha constituency reside there. I wrote a letter to the prime minister, and I was told that everything is proceeding smoothly; yet, for those who wish to return, there are absolutely no facilities available to facilitate their homecoming. India is a nation of 1.4 billion people. It once provided leadership to the entire developing world. It once stood firm in opposition to American imperialism. Today, however, the President of that very American imperialist power suggests that India is permitted to purchase oil from Russia for a mere one-month period. This is a matter of deep shame for the 1.4 billion people of this country — not merely for the country’s prime minister. Given the manner in which affairs are being conducted today — and specifically regarding the supplementary grants they have presented before us — what is the actual state of affairs? Today, the state most severely affected under the Jal Jeevan Mission is Rajasthan — precisely where their “double-engine government” is in power. Whoever has committed fraud in this matter must be handed down the strictest possible punishment; we have absolutely no objection to that. However, at the very least, provide the people with drinking water! I wish to state that in thousands of villages, towns, and hamlets across Sikar and Jhunjhunu -- where the Jal Jeevan Mission was initiated in the year 2019, and a specific scheme was formulated in 2021 — not a single household has received water to this day. There is no water available for them. The current situation is such that Rajasthan faces the most acute water scarcity in the country. What is the plight of the farmers today? Minimum support prices (MSP) have been declared for 22 crops across the country; specifically, the MSP for bajra (pearl millet) is fixed at ₹2,775 per quintal. Yet, to this day, not a single quintal of bajra has been procured by the authorities. Rajasthan happens to be the largest producer of bajra in the country. Now, the mustard crop is being harvested, yet the official online procurement rates have not been released so far. Consequently, 85 per cent of the small and marginal farmers will be compelled — out of sheer necessity — to sell their produce in the open market at a rate of ₹1,500 per quintal. Only after they have sold their produce, the official online rates will be announced. Nothing could be more deplorable than this.

Participating in a discussion on the working of the ministry of railways in the Lok Sabha, R Sachithanantham said the railways is now moving towards public-private partnership and has commissioned 79 private freight terminals. Under this scheme, about 640 rakes have been procured. This is a major policy change introduced by this government. The railways has also begun inviting private players to run container trains for transportation, and at present 18 private container operators have been allowed. I would like to know whether there is any proposal to operate private passenger trains in our country. If so, it will affect poor people and the middle class who depend on trains for their travel. The CAG has noted that several countries follow stricter standards for punctuality. For instance, the allowable delay is only a few seconds in Japan, three minutes in the Netherlands, five minutes in Germany and Russia, and 10 minutes in the UK. However, in the audit analysis of about 13 lakh trains, it was found that only about 30 per cent of the trains arrived on time. Around 20 per cent arrived earlier, while the remaining 50 per cent were delayed. The audit also revealed that punctuality is affected by several factors such as lack of available paths due to poor monitoring, track defects, rescheduling by the railways, and congestion caused by unscheduled train movements.  Further, more than one lakh complaints were reported regarding the non-availability of water in toilets and washbasins on trains. It was also found that quick watering facilities were not operational at 25 out of the 109 stations identified for this purpose. The issue of quality of linen was not effectively enforced on the contractors. There were 40 accidents in 2023-2024; 31 accidents in 2024-2025; and 14 accidents in 2025-2026. Even though the number of accidents has declined, safety measures must be taken all over India to prevent accidents by allocating more funds for safety. Kavach deployment and interlocking systems are not fully covered on all routes. Is it fair to withhold fare concessions for the elderly even though both passenger revenue and freight revenue have increased? There is a need to fill up all the vacancies in the Railways. Why metro projects are sanctioned for places with smaller populations such as Gurugram and Noida while permission is denied to cities of Tamil Nadu like Madurai and Coimbatore. The prime minister is not giving funds to Tamil Nadu but wants to get more votes in Tamil Nadu with the help of the CBI. But Tamil Nadu will reject those who have neglected it by withholding funds.