BJP accuses opposition of disrupting parliament; Assam flood death toll rises

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused India's leading opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), and its allied parties of disrupting parliamentary sessions and wasting taxpayer money.

"Due to the Congress party's continuous uproar and disruption of the house proceedings, two important bills related to public welfare had to be passed without discussion," BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said in a press conference from the party's headquarters.

He was talking about the Registration of Births & Deaths (Amendment) Bill and the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill.

"Both these bills are directly linked to the interests of the public," he said adding that detailed discussions did not take places for either due to the disruption. The bills, however, were passed in the lower house of the parliament.

"Hardly any bill is being discussed. The reason behind this is the conduct of the Congress party and some of its INDIA alliance partners. I am genuinely surprised by their double standards," he told reporters, referring to a broad multiparty alliance led by the iNC, the National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The BJP's press conference comes amid growing attacks from the opposition regarding the government's response to student protests in July and an alleged theft of donation money from a grand temple in Ayodhya in northern Uttar Pradesh.

Over the last two weeks, parliamentary sessions have regularly been adjourned due to protests from the opposition bloc or sloganeering in house.

The BJP spokesperson called for INC President Mallikarjun Kharge said India's Home Minister Amit Shah to come to parliament on Monday to explain the reported police brutality on students in last month's protests.

He also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to answer how donation money from the temple was stolen when the temple's trust was "under the PM's oversight."

Officials in the northeastern state of Assam reported two more deaths on Tuesday, taking the total death toll from the recent flooding to 87.

"Relief efforts continue while rehabilitation gathering pace across the affected districts. We are fully committed to helping every family recover," Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X.

As per official figures, some 2,281 villages have been affected by the floods and over 73,000 people are currently sheltered in relief camps. Over 16,700 houses have been partially or fully damaged.

Nearly 130,000 people remain affected, even as flood waters are receding from most of the areas, local media reported.

Meanwhile, India's national weather agency has predicted thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in Assam's neighboring states of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalya over the next few days, warning that it could impact some districts in Assam as well.

India needs to be clear about its stance on an upcoming speech by ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said, adding that Dhaka did not want the event to adversely impact the improving ties between the neighboring nations.

"We do not want India-Bangladesh relations to be ⁠harmed ​by statements from fugitive accused individuals," she said, adding that India had ​previously indicated it did not expect fugitives to engage in political activities from its territory.

Hasina is set to make a live but virtual speech on August 5, at an event hosted by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia, titled "Sheikh Hasina's Homecoming."

A flyer for the event, posted on X, said that Hasina would thank journalists at the club in Delhi, ahead of her "homecoming." It will mark the second anniversary of the student-led uprising which toppled her government.

The event is not organised by the Indian government. It is also not Hasina's first public address from India, where she has been living in exile since being ousted from power in Bangladesh in 2024.

Ties between India and Bangladesh grew strained since Hasina fled to the neighboring nation, where she has lived since. While both countries have made attempts at improving ties, Dhaka continues to formally seek Hasina's extradition, which India says is under consideration.

Meanwhile, Hasina recently told several global news organisations that she planned to return to Bangladesh by December 2026, despite several legal cases and a death sentence.

India's foreign ministry has not publicly responded to Islam's comments yet.