Overview

• On August 18, the Lok Sabha held a special session to honour Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s International Space Station mission, but Opposition MPs boycotted the debate and repeatedly shouted “SIR” to highlight alleged voter exclusions in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision.
• INDIA alliance legislators submitted multiple Rule 267 suspension-of-business notices seeking a full parliamentary debate on threats to electoral democracy, triggering successive adjournments of both Houses.
• The government introduced the Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Bill, 2025 to decriminalise minor offences under Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s stewardship and advanced the Indian Ports Bill to passage despite an Opposition walkout.
• NDA leaders nominated Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan as their vice-presidential candidate, intensifying cross-party talks even as the Monsoon Session remained gridlocked.
• After two interruptions during the space discussion, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day, underscoring the unresolved tug-of-war over Parliament’s agenda control.