Monsoon Session | Rijiju–Kharge Face-Off As Rajya Sabha Clears Online Gaming Bill

Parliament witnessed a heated face-off on Thursday (August 21, 2025) as the Rajya Sabha passed The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 amid uproar. The Upper House approved the legislation, piloted by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The bill bans all deposit-based money games while encouraging eSports and social games such as chess and Sudoku. Tensions flared when Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Congress President and LoP Mallikarjun Kharge clashed over the government’s decision to push the bill. The Lok Sabha had cleared the bill a day earlier.