Parliament Winter Session 2025 highlights: Our nation is a fabric of 1.5 billion people and it is woven together by vote, says Rahul Gandhi

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta tweets, "... Strict instructions have been given to the Environment Department to ensure a complete ban on open burning. The district administration and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi have been empowered to impose a fine of up to Rs 5000 on those burning garbage in the open..."

Our nation is a fabric of 1.5 billion people and it is woven together by vote, says Rahul Gandhi in parliament while speaking on the electoral reforms discussion.

During the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms on Tuesday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took aim at the ruling establishment, alleging, “They do not believe in equality, they believe in hierarchy and believe they should be on top of that,” Gandhi said in the House as he criticised the government’s stance on proposed changes.

Parliament winter session live updates: Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday countered government criticism during the Rajya Sabha debate on Vande Mataram, insisting that the Congress had taken collective decisions on the national song.

He said, “Congress Working Committee members, including Nehru ji, Mahatma Gandhi, Mauala Azad, Netaji Subhash Chandra ji, Sardar Patel ji, Govind Vallabh Pant ji passed a resolution recommending that wherever Vande Mataram is sung at national gatherings only the first two stanzas should be sung… Was Nehru ji alone in the Congress Working Committee? You are insulting all the other big leaders who took a collective decision," reported ANI.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "... Congress MPs are questioning the need for having discussions on Vande Mataram and calling it a political strategy and a way of diverting from the issues. Nobody is scared of discussions on issues. We are not the ones boycotting the Parliament. If they want to discuss, they need to stop boycotting, and all discussions will take place. We are not scared of or trying to hide anything. We are ready for debate on any issue. They also need to know that avoiding discussions on Vande Mataram is not new... India was not independent when Vande Mataram completed 50 years. When the golden jubilee of Vande Mataram was due, Jawaharlal Nehru limited the national song to two stanzas."

Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday told the Rajya Sabha that some people are trying to diminish the importance of Vande Mataram by linking it to the Bengal elections. He said Vande Mataram is an immortal creation that inspires duty and dedication toward Mother India and dismissed the Opposition charge.

Speaking in Lok Sabha on electoral reforms, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav says, "Elections should be conducted using ballot papers because many questions are being raised on the use of electronic devices." (ANI)

During the discussion on Vande Mataram in Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the relevance of of the national song transcends time, responding to members who questioned the need for its discussion.

He asserted that the call for national dedication has always been necessary and will remain vital in 2047, emphasising its enduring place in India’s identity and democratic spirit.

During the debate on Special Intensive Revision (SIR), BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal hit back at Congress and said that the Opposition is raising the issue of SIR and vote-chori in order to distract from their heavy losses in the recently-concluded Bihar elections.

He goes on to say that the first instance of vote-chori (vote theft) happened in 1947 when the whole of Congress Working Committee was with Sardar Patel, yet Jawahar Lal Nehru was made the Prime Minister. He lists out 1975 Emergency and 1987 Kashmir elections as examples of “Congress vote chori.”

Speaking in Lok Sabha on election reforms, Congress MP Manish Tewari says. "I demand the government present before the Parliament the reasons in writing for conducting SIR in different constituencies."

During the discussion in Lok Sabha, Congress MP Manish Tewari said that Constitution doesn’t provide for Special Intensive Revision. This was a provision given to the Election Commission. He goes on to say that the Election Body cannot conduct blanket-SIR across a full State like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal etc.

He said, “Many states are doing SIR, but the EC has no right to do it. You can’t implement SIR across Bihar or Kerala, it can only be applied where genuine discrepancies exist.”

SIR, he says, is to be conducted within a specified electoral constituency. In whichever Assembly/Parliamentary Constituency, SIR is being conducted, the Election Commission should table the reasons for the same being carried out.

Speaking in Lok Sabha on the IndiGo crisis, Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said, "No airline, however large, will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures, non-compliance..."

"IndiGo disruptions are stabilising; all other airlines continue to operate smoothly across the country. Airports across the country are reporting normal conditions, with no crowding or distress. Refunds, baggage tracing and passenger support measures remain under the supervision of the Ministry. DGCA has issued show-cause notices to IndiGo's senior leadership and commenced a detailed enforcement investigation. Based on the report, strict and appropriate action will be taken. No airline, however large, will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures, non-compliance..."

Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu is speaking in the Lok Sabha on IndiGo crisis and said the flight operation is resuming gradually.

"...IndiGo has not demonstrated the ability to operate its schedules efficiently. It is directed to reduce the schedule by 5% across sectors. IndiGo is required to submit a revised schedule by 5 pm on 10th December": Office of the Director General of Civil Aviation, Govt of India.

Parliament News Live: NDA MPs felicitate PM Modi over for alliance's victory in Bihar Assembly elections

Question Hour is underway in Lok Sabha with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan taking up questions.

Parliament News Live: PM Narendra Modi leaves after conclusion of NDA Parliamentary Party meeting

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Tuesday," Today, discussion on election reforms will begin in Lok Sabha. In Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will lead the 2-day discussion on Vande Mataram today. Some Opposition members have said that the Vande Mataram discussion is being held because of the election. It is wrong to say so."

Parliament News Live: Education Minister welcomes Australian counterpart to Parliament

The NDA Parliamentary Party is holding a meeting at the GMC Balayogi Auditorium in the Parliament Library Building with PM Modi in attendance. All NDA members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been asked to present at the meeting.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore submitted a notice for suspension of business in the Lok Sabha, demanding a discussion on the 'government's failure in preventing and responding to the unprecedented IndiGo flight disruptions, massive passenger harassment, and exploitative airfare surge.'

The Lok Sabha is all set to take up a discussion on electoral reforms today, including the special intensive revision (SIR) of India’s electoral rolls -- a debate that the Opposition had been demanding for months. Following days of negotiations, the government and Opposition reached an agreement last week to bring the matter to the House.

During the debate, Rahul Gandhi is expected to raise allegations of “vote theft” and question the Election Commission of India’s accountability. The Opposition has long maintained that India’s voter rolls contain serious inconsistencies -- from mass deletions to duplicate entries -- issues Gandhi has repeatedly underscored in press conferences held in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Karnataka. Read more

Since the start of the Winter Session on December 1, Opposition parties were demanding a dedicated debate on electoral reforms and the SIR. Several Opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, staged protests inside and outside Parliament during the first two days. The leaders held posters and placards against the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls, carried a large banner reading “Stop SIR–Stop Vote Chori”, and raised slogans against the government.

The Congress also alleged that the SIR drive, while presented as an exercise to clean the rolls of bogus entries, was misused during its rollout in Bihar to target marginalised communities whose votes traditionally favour opposition parties.

After multiple rounds of discussions between government and Opposition floor leaders, a consensus was reached to hold a debate on SIR, preceded by a debate marking 150 years of Vande Mataram.

Rahul Gandhi is expected to bring up allegations of “vote theft” and press for answers from the Election Commission of India, with the Opposition asserting that voter rolls have been riddled with irregularities -- including mass deletions, duplicate entries, and procedural lapses. Gandhi has echoed these concerns in recent media briefings in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Karnataka.

The Congress is also likely to spotlight the mounting pressure on Booth Level Officers involved in the SIR re-verification. Opposition parties allege the exercise has created untenable working conditions, citing reports of alleged suicides linked to stress and excessive workload. The BJP has countered these claims, accusing the Opposition of politicising an already sensitive issue.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will open the debate on election reforms in the House on Tuesday.

The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Parliament since the monsoon session, but the government suggested having a debate on election reforms, citing that the Election Commission was an independent, autonomous and constitutional body.

The BJP is expected to field senior leaders Nishikant Dubey, P P Chaudhary, Abhijit Gangopadhyay and Sanjay Jaiswal in the debate which will take place over two days.

Besides Gandhi, the Congress is expected to field K C Venugopal, Manish Tewari, Varsha Gaikwad, Mohammed Jawed, Ujjwal Raman Singh, Isa Khan, Ravi Mallu, Imran Masood, Gowaal Padavi and Jothimani in the debate.

(PTI inputs)

In a crucial week of the winter session, the Lok Sabha is set to hold a long-awaited debate on electoral reforms -- most notably the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of India’s voter list. The move comes after sustained demands and a consensus between the government and the Opposition last week.