The Bills had been introduced only two hours earlier and placed on the House’s agenda through a supplementary list. Opposition MPs therefore had no opportunity to read the lengthy texts before they were taken up for passage.
Published Aug 11, 2025 | 6:56 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 11, 2025 | 6:56 PM
BJP MP and member of the Panel of Chairpersons Sandhya Ray presided over the session.
Synopsis: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, on Monday, pushed through five Bills in the Lok Sabha, making sweeping changes to income tax and sports governance, without debate and amid persistent Opposition protests. The Income-Tax (No. 2) Bill 2025, the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2025, the National Sports Governance Bill 2025, and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill 2025 were all introduced and passed within hours, with some approved in under a minute.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Monday, 11 August, pushed through five Bills in the Lok Sabha, including a 500-plus clause overhaul of India’s income tax law in a matter of hours, with little or no debate and amid continuous protests from Opposition MPs.
The Income-Tax (No. 2) Bill, 2025, containing over 500 clauses, was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and passed by the NDA benches in a matter of minutes without discussion.
Immediately afterwards, the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was also passed in one minute, again without debate.
Both Bills had been introduced only two hours earlier and placed on the House’s agenda through a supplementary list. MPs therefore had no opportunity to read the lengthy texts before they were taken up for passage.
During the proceedings, Opposition MPs protested over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and allegations of “vote theft”. Slogans of “Loktantra ki hatya bandh karo” (“Stop murdering democracy”) and “Shame! Shame!” were audible throughout.
The new income tax legislation replaces the Income Tax Act, 1961, and seeks to simplify compliance, incorporate digital taxation, and use technology and data analytics to widen the tax base.
An earlier draft of the Bill, introduced in February, had only been withdrawn on 8 August after drafting errors and criticism.
A Select Committee formed on 13 February reviewed the earlier draft and submitted a 4,575–4,584-page report on 21 July, containing between 285 and 566 recommendations, including 32 major changes. According to Minister Sitharaman, most of these have been incorporated in the revised Bill.
The NDA majority also cleared the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025 alongside the aforementioned Bills, again with little to no debate, with voting concluding in less than 10 minutes.
The Sports Governance Bill, moved by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandviya, provides for a National Sports Board to regulate all sports bodies, including the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The Anti-Doping Amendment Bill gives the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) greater “operational independence” in line with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) requirements.
