The Monsoon Session of Parliament witnessed disruptions due to disagreements between the government and the Opposition on the format of the discussion regarding the Manipur situation.
The Opposition sought a discussion under Rule 267 to express the sense of the House, while the government proposed a discussion under Rule 176.
While under Rule 176, there is a short discussion, Rule 267 calls for a longer discussion.
The Rule 176 calls for a short-duration discussion not exceeding two-and-a-half hours.
Under the rule 176 and 177, an urgent matter can be taken up for a short-duration discussion immediately, a few hours later or the next day or on a prescribed date and time.
Rule 267 is suspending a particular rule in relation to a business which is listed in the agenda.
The Prime Minister doesn’t necessarily need to stay in house under Rule 267 as the issue is discussed for long hours.
Parliamentary records show that there were 11 instances between 1990 up till 2016 that this rule was invoked for various discussions.
The adjournment motion is governed by Rules 56-63 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.