India Parliament Monsoon Session Opens Amid Fierce Opposition Protests

The Indian Parliament's Monsoon Session began on July 20, 2026, marked by immediate deadlock and street protests. Narendra Modi opened the session by praising the startup Skyroot Aerospace and urging parliamentarians to engage in productive debate. However, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha faced early adjournments on the first day due to sloganeering by opposition members.

Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, demanded independent probes into alleged embezzlement of donations within the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 exams. These tensions were preceded by a symbolic walkout during a July 19 all-party meeting to protest the government's inclusion of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, a group formed by 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs.

Outside the house, the Cockroach Janta Party organized a 'Chalo Sansad' march for education reforms, while activist Sonam Wangchuk continued a hunger strike. Dimple Yadav and other Samajwadi Party MPs marched to Jantar Mantar to support student protesters. The Delhi Police denied reports of violence during these demonstrations, stating they were handled professionally.

Despite the turmoil, the government moved forward with its legislative agenda. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, to increase judge strength from 33 to 37. Additionally, Home Minister Amit Shah introduced a bill to criminalize insults to the national song, Vande Mataram. The session is scheduled to run until August 13.