Both the Houses were adjourned till 2 pm after pandemonium prevailed in Parliament on Thursday when DMK members entered the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them to protest on the delimitation issue.

DMK members arrived in the Lower House wearing T-shirts with slogans displayed on them. Disapproving the same, Speaker Om Birla said that this was not acceptable and against Parliamentary rules and decorum. He adjourned the proceedings twice — once till 12 Noon and then again till 2 pm — over the issue.

Advertisement

He said it was not right to wear T-shirts with slogans written on them. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi often comes to the House in a white T-shirt. The Lok Sabha Speaker also pointed towards the Congress leader.

”House functions with rules and procedures. Members have to maintain the dignity and honour of the House. But some MPs are not following the rules and violating the dignity which is not acceptable,” Birla said when the House met at 11 am.

DMK members have been trying to raise the issue of delimitation in the Lok Sabha, but the Speaker has rejected their pleas. DMK Member T Siva arrived in Parliament wearing a T-shirt that said, “Fair Delimitation, Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win.”

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned thrice during the pre-lunch period over the same issue.

The Upper House was briefly adjourned shortly after proceedings began. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called a meeting of floor leaders at 11.30 a.m. to discuss “what he has seen in the House a while ago” without divulging any further details.

However, the deadlock over the issue continued and when the House reassembled at 12 Noon, Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced that the proceedings had been adjourned again for another 15 minutes.

At 12.15 pm, he again came and announced that the House stands adjourned till 2 PM, amid the deadlock.

The agenda for the Lok Sabha includes discussions and voting on the Demands for Grants under the Ministry of Jal Shakti for 2025-26, as well as the continued consideration of cut motions moved on March 18, 2025. The House will also take up discussion and voting on the demands for grants under the control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for 2025-26.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha will resume the discussion on the working of the Home Ministry. The Upper House will further take up the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024 for consideration.

Outside Parliament, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said, “The drama being enacted by the DMK, whether on the issue of delimitation or imposition of Hindi, should be seen through the prism of the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections. It is being done to divert the attention of the people of Tamil Nadu from the real issues of lack of development and rampant corruption under the DMK rule. The Government of India and Home Minister Amit Shah have repeatedly assured the people of the country, especially all the southern states, that no southern state will suffer adversely due to delimitation. Despite these repeated assurances, the DMK is only trying to create a sense of fear to gain political benefits in the 2026 elections, people will reject their agenda.”