Parliament Winter Session Live: Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am on Thursday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday ripped into the Opposition and claimed that their electoral defeats had nothing to do with the revision of electoral rolls under the SIR exercise. Shah was speaking on the second day of the debate on electoral reforms, including SIR, in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

"The Opposition will continue to loose elections...SIR or no SIR...You raised the issue of vote-chori in Bihar, but lost despite undertaking a yatra all through the state," Shah said as he countered the Opposition's charges.

"First SIR was carried out in 1952 when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister. This is not the first time it is happening," Amit Shah said.

He (Rahul Gandhi) cannot decide what I speak, he has to learn to be patient: Amit Shah after Gandhi interrupts him during debate in Lok Sabha.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hit out at Rahul Gandhi over his voter fraud claims in Haryana. “Rahul Gandhi said there are 501 votes in a single house in Haryana. The EC clarified it saying that House 265 is not a small house and one family is spread over one acre," he said. "The house doesn't have a number and three generations have been living in the house. They are neither fake house, not fraud voters."

SIR is conducted to delete names from electoral roll of people who are dead and those who are foreign nationals: Amit Shah in Lok Sabha.

"I still believe SIR cannot be discussed in parliament. But when it comes to 'Election Reforms', we are ready. We are not running away from any debate or discussion," Amit Shah said.

Following the nightclub blaze in Arpora that killed 25 people, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has begun strict action against illegal coastal clubs, starting with the demolition of unauthorised portions of Romeo Lane in Vagator. Sawant said arrests in the case are underway and assured that the accused Luthra brothers will be in police custody soon. Interpol has already issued a Blue Corner Notice against them. The state has now intensified inspections and warned that licences of establishments flouting fire safety norms will be cancelled.

A massive fire broke out at Raj Textile Market in Surat’s Parvat Patia area on Wednesday, spreading across the third, fifth and ninth floors of the building. More than 22 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, with firefighters battling the blaze for hours before bringing it under control. Officials suspect a wiring fault as the likely cause, though a detailed assessment is pending. No casualties have been reported. Police have cordoned off the area and are managing traffic as cooling operations continue.

Deepawali, India’s widely celebrated festival of lights, has been officially added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The recognition highlights the festival’s rich traditions and its role in promoting cultural unity, joining other cultural symbols from countries like Ghana, Georgia, Congo, Ethiopia, and Egypt. UNESCO congratulated India on the new inscription, marking a global acknowledgment of the festival’s significance.

Deepawali, India’s widely celebrated festival of lights, has been officially added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The recognition highlights the festival’s rich traditions and its role in promoting cultural unity, joining other cultural symbols from countries like Ghana, Georgia, Congo, Ethiopia, and Egypt. UNESCO congratulated India on the new inscription, marking a global acknowledgment of the festival’s significance.

Following an attempted rape, a six year old girl was viciously attacked in Rajkot, Gujarat. This led to public indignation and a massive police manhunt that resulted in the arrest of a 35-year-old farm labourer. She was allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted by an unknown male.

Rahul Tanti, Manojit Mal, and Diganta Patir, young men from Assam, died in the deadly fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in North Goa, which killed 25 in total. All three had moved out of Assam seeking better livelihoods due to low wages in tea gardens and limited local opportunities. Their bodies were returned to their villages in Cachar and Dhemaji, where grief-stricken families performed last rites according to local customs. Authorities are investigating the cause, with a cylinder blast or fireworks suspected.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee tore up a Union government note imposing new MGNREGA conditions, calling it “valueless” and “disrespectful,” during a rally in Cooch Behar. She criticized the timing and restrictive norms, accused the Centre of using funds as a political tool, and reaffirmed Bengal’s commitment to running its own employment programmes independently.

Goa police have detained Ajay Gupta, one of the owners of 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, where a fire claimed 25 lives. Gupta, previously on a Look Out Circular, was found in Delhi and will be brought to Goa soon. Five others, including the club’s management staff, have already been arrested, while two owners remain absconding with a blue corner notice issued against them.

Delhi's air quality index (AQI) improved slightly on Wednesday, dropping to 269 at 6 AM, though smog continues to blanket the city. Out of 37 monitoring stations, 28 recorded "poor" AQI, while 9 remained in the "very poor" category, with NSIT, Dwarka, and Bawana showing the worst pollution levels. The coldwave and dense fog forecast by the IMD are expected to keep air quality a concern.

Three people were killed and 15 injured when a sleeper bus and a truck collided head-on on the Jaipur-Bikaner National Highway near Fatehpur in Rajasthan late Tuesday night. Locals rushed to the spot after hearing a loud crash and helped rescue passengers before police arrived. In a separate Chittorgarh mishap, four men assisting earlier crash victims were killed in a chain collision involving a minivan and a car.