Amid Protests, Lok Sabha Passes Kerala Renaming Bill and Co-op Amendment Without Debate
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, and the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, by voice vote without any debate, as the ongoing stalemate between the opposition and the government continued.
The first bill seeks to rename Kerala as Keralam, while the second proposes amendments to the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act. Although the List of Business had indicated that Home Minister Amit Shah would move the Bills, they were ultimately moved by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai and Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol, and were passed by voice vote amid the din.
The opposition has been disrupting proceedings over its demand that Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement in the House on the police action during student protests in Delhi and the alleged theft of offerings at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The demand has led to repeated adjournments since the start of the monsoon session.
On Tuesday, as soon as the House met, opposition members moved into the well, carrying placards and raising slogans. Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House until 2 p.m. When it reassembled, the protests resumed. TDP member Krishna Prasad Tenneti was allowed to lay papers on the table during the uproar. Thereafter, the two bills were taken up and passed by voice vote, with no discussion. The House was then adjourned for the day.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju took a swipe at the Congress, observing that senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal had wanted to speak on the bill relating to his home state but could not due to the disturbance. Junior Home Minister Nityanand Rai, who moved the renaming bill, also remarked that it appeared Congress MPs, whose party governs Kerala, were not in favour of changing the state's name.
Speaking to media outside the House, Rijiju said the government had offered on Monday to hold a detailed discussion on the student protest incidents and was ready to respond. "All NDA MPs were seated in the House with the expectation that the discussion would begin, and the Home Minister was also fully prepared to respond. But the Congress once again walked out, raised slogans outside and did not allow the discussion to take place," he said. He asserted that the government's readiness for a debate was evident to the public.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, also addressing reporters, listed three issues: who ordered the lathi-charge and firing on students, which he said Amit Shah should answer; an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the injuries to students during police action; and a response from Modi regarding the alleged theft of offerings at the Ram Temple.
K.C. Venugopal said: "Whenever a serious question is raised about the atrocities against students in Delhi, this is the response the Modi government gives. The Modi government cannot divert attention from the atrocities in Delhi by raising the Jharkhand issue."
The developments on Tuesday underscored the persistent gridlock in Parliament, which has left several issues unresolved.
