The Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed uproar as the Opposition accused the government of exercising power “arbitrarily” to push through bills hurriedly, flouting rules and procedures and without giving due time to members to prepare.

Although the treasury benches firmly denied the charge, Speaker Om Birla assured the agitating Opposition members that he would personally ensure they were intimated well in advance about bills to be taken up for passage.

“Sir, they (government) are bringing bills without consulting us…. One after the other, bills are being brought. What is happening?” asked Adhir Chowdhury, the Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha. “At 10 in the night we know what bills are coming (the next day)…. How will I prepare my members? How will I prepare my speakers’ list?” he asked.

The Opposition members were angry that late on Wednesday, two bills were added to the list of business for Thursday. Along with the Congress, members of the Trinamul Congress and the DMK rose to protest.

“Sir, there are two things. One is the existence of power and the other is the exercise of power. We are not questioning the existence of power. The question is how you are exercising that power,” Trinamul’s Kalyan Banerjee said.

“Power is being exercised very capriciously and whimsically…. Power is being exercised arbitrarily. While everyone is ready for one bill, you are bringing a different bill,” Banerjee added.

The bills that were added to the list late on Wednesday, after the business advisory committee had agreed to Thursday’s list of business, related to insolvency and bankruptcy and the protection of children from sexual offences. The committee includes Opposition members.

Although the government has the right to revise the list using the clause of urgent business and past governments too have taken recourse to it, the Opposition accused the BJP dispensation of doing it almost on a daily basis.

“Everyday, this is becoming the practice. There is decorum to be followed in this House. I am sure the government also does not want to spoil that. We all want to work together,” DMK leader Kanimozhi said.

“Parliament cannot function on the whims and fancies of anyone. Neither the minister for parliamentary affairs, nor his minister of state, nor the secretary-general can change parliamentary functioning at his will,” Trinamul’s Saugata Roy said.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhand Joshi rejected the Opposition’s charge, saying the bills had been introduced earlier and circulated among the members well in advance. “We cannot answer every point. I can only say that the bills have been circulated, and there is a precedence of revised list of business,” Joshi said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor questioned if the government had “suspended the directions given by the Speaker”.

“We are seeing that this government has been ignoring the existing directions in force on every issue,” Tharoor added.

The Opposition cooled down only after Speaker Birla intervened. “I will take up the issue at the business advisory committee meeting. I will personally ensure that members are intimated about the bills to be taken up at least a day in advance,” the Speaker said.

The Speaker’s assurance, however, came almost at the fag end of the current session, which will conclude on August 7.