Parliament monsoon session highlights: Bankers' Books Evidence, Taxation Bills passed amid Oppn walkout

• The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill. Speaking on it, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that no charges or taxes would be imposed on UPI transactions.

• The Upper House also passed the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill. Sitharaman said the Bill would “strengthen public confidence”.

• Congress on Monday said the opposition's demand for statements by union home minister Amit Shah on police action on student protesters in Delhi and by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the alleged embezzlement of Ram Temple donations cannot be delinked.

• Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi put forward the Opposition's demands. “First condition, I explained to you that we want to understand clearly who is responsible, who is culpable, second, the Prime Minister apologizes for what has happened and third was the issue of the Ram temple theft,” he said.

• The Tribunal Reforms Bill, 2026, which was passed in Lok Sabha without a debate amid sloganeering by the Opposition. Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, was tabled before the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi put forward three conditions of the Opposition on Monday, also demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology on police action on protesters.

“First condition, I explained to you that we want to understand clearly who is responsible, who is culpable, second, the Prime Minister apologizes for what has happened and third was the issue of the Ram temple theft which Kharge ji has elaborated upon, people very close to the Prime Minister have stolen from the Ram temple. These are the three issues,” Rahul said.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE:

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the “question” was never if union home minister Amit Shah should speak in Parliament, but on police action against protesters, PTI news agency reported.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 11 am on Tuesday, August 11.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: As the Rajya Sabha passed the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill on Monday, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that no charges or taxes would be imposed on UPI transactions.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: In response to remarks made by US congressman Riley Moore on the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2026, BJP MP Sujeet Kumar said they were “misguided, misconceived, motivated and mischievous.”

“I feel that he has not even read the proposed Bill. He claims that this Bill is an attack on Christians and an attempt to take over churches. I ask him to tell me where in the Bill there is a provision that churches can be taken over by the government or that it is an attack on Christians,” Kumar told PTI news agency.

“hristianity in India predates Christianity in the US by several centuries. For 2,000 years, our Christian brothers and sisters have lived peacefully and harmoniously here and contributed immensely to the making of India. We do not need a US Congressman to lecture us on our domestic legislation,” he added.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Congress on Monday said the opposition's demand for statements by union home minister Amit Shah on police action on student protesters in Delhi and by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the alleged embezzlement of Ram Temple donations cannot be delinked, PTI news agency reported.

This comes shortly after union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the government is ready for a debate in the Lok Sabha on the student protests as well as police action.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Amid Opposition's demands calling for union home minister Amit Shah to make a statement in the House regarding the student protests in Delhi, CPI(M) MP P Sandosh Kumar said “nothing was official confirmed” to the opposition leaders.

“We have been continuously raising the same demand, and it is unfortunate that the Opposition has had to take such a serious step to ensure the presence of the home minister and the Prime Minister in Parliament,” Kumar told PTI news agency. He added that while the Opposition's demand was “simple and genuine”, the government had not agreed to it.

“Now they say they are ready. In fact, nothing was officially confirmed to us, especially in the Rajya Sabha. The question is, why did they refrain from making a statement for these 15-16 days?” Kumar questioned.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed a bill, which seeks to replace a British-era legislation, paving the way for inclusion of digital and virtual records as admissible evidence in the court of law, in sync with the digital dependence of the banking system.

The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 5, and seeks to provide for law relating to evidence with respect to bankers' books and to align it with contemporary digital banking practices.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had moved the Bill earlier today for consideration and passing.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that since the origin of the Bankers' Books Evidence Act in 1891, the Indian economy had been digitised.

She said that aspects related to banking and finance “will have to catch u[”, adding that commercial operations had increasingly become “phone-driven.”

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the Bankers' Books Evidence Act had its origin in 1891. “India has shown exemplary speed in digitising its economy since then,” the finance minister said, adding that instruments of banking and financial transactions have come “phone-driven.”

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while speaking in Rajya Sabha, recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech from the Red Fort, saying it had focused on change in mindset.

“One of things he highlighted was get over the colonial mindset. (This is) in keeping in line with PM's advice that all colonial laws will have to be changes so that we give ourself citizen centric act,” the finance minister said.

Parliament monsoon session LIVE: Before replying to the debate on the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, which introduces amendments to the 1891 Act, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it was a “sad state that Opposition chooses to walk out from such important debates.”

“These are the kinds of bills the Opposition must participate in,” Sitharaman said in the Rajya Sabha.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moves The Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026 for consideration and passing in Rajya Sabha.

The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026, seeks to set up a commission to select chairpersons and members for various tribunals, with the aim to improve efficiency, ensure independence, transparency and uniformity in the qualification and appointment process.

The Bill also lays the framework to constitute a National Tribunals Commission, following a Supreme Court order. The commission will be headquartered in New Delhi.

It will be presided over by a chairperson and four members, which will include two judicial members and two technical members. The panel will be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or a retired chief justice of a high court.

Lok Sabha passes Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026, without debate amid ruckus due to sloganeering by the Opposition.

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, was tabled before the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 11 am tomorrow, August 11, as Opposition protests continued to disrupt proceedings.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha continue to see uproar as the houses resume proceedings at 2 pm.

"The offer made by the government is very clear that it is ready to have a full and detailed discussion on students' movement and activities related to it," says Kiren Rijiju.

Urging smooth discussion during Amit Shah's statement on student protest, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju says, "The Opposition should not create disturbances to prevent the statement of the Home Minister. They must listen to the reply of the Home Minister and the government. Once discussion begins, we must have a threadbare discussion."