Parliament session day 12 highlights: No inflation crisis in India today, Sitharaman says in Rajya Sabha

• BJP's Nishikant Dubey accused Lok Sabha LoP Rahul of misleading the nation and moved a substantive motion against him in Parliament, seeking termination of his membership and a lifetime ban from contesting elections.

• Congress downplayed the move, saying it was prepared to face the motion. “.. The last time they tried to cancel his membership, the people gave him more votes than PM Modi got. We will continue to tell the truth in the Parliament,” Congress leader KC Venugopal said.

• BJP leaders, including union minister Piyush Goyal and MP Anurag Thakur, targeted Rahul. Thakur questioned the “values of Congress leaders”, while Goyal said Rahul was attempting to “mislead the nation.”

• Meanwhile, the Congress raised concerns regarding India-US trade deal, alleging that it could affect the farmers. “The kind of conditions imposed in the US trade deal will break the back of Indian farmers," MP Priyanka Gandhi said in a post on X.

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha said there was no inflation crisis in India today, saying it had been tackled by strategy.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Congress MP Manish Tiwari on Thursday demanded for the Centre to restore income tax exemption on disability pension to soldiers.

“Chandigarh is home to a large number of ex-servicemen who served this country with great honour and valour, safeguarding our frontiers at the peril of their lives,” Tiwari said during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha.

He said it was unfortunate that in the Finance Bill 2026, Para 108, the income tax exemption on service element plus disability has been restricted to only those servicemen who have been invalidated out of service. “This is a clear breach of Article 14 of the Constitution,” he said.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha said the Centre's funds are not a “free pool of cash.”

In response to opposition members questioning the release of funds to various states, Sitharaman said, “Centre's funds are not a free pool of cash. It's hard earned contribution of every Indian citizen. We refuse to squander the money simply to meet a deadline. There is a very transparent process, and we go by that.”

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day. The session will resume at 11 am on Friday.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday said there was no evidence of middle-class suppression, but of expansion.

“There is no evidence of middle-class suppression. Actually, there is enough and more evidence of historic middle-class expansion and formalisation driven by the economic reforms that have been undertaken in the last ten years,” the Finance Minister said.

Sitharaman added that high personal income tax collection did not necessarily mean the middle class is being crushed.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The Bill will help avoid “future unwarranted complication” over continuity of certain laws replaced by the Industrial Relations Code of 2020.

According to statement of objects and reasons of the proposed law, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 replaces the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, relating to trade unions, industrial employment and industrial disputes, PTI reported.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Finance Minister Sitharaman on Thursday questioned how the taxpayer was being suppressed if income up to ₹12 lakh had been exempted from tax.

The Finance Minister further said that there were more people today with taxable income. “More income is visible and in the formal sector and it is being reported. The economy is no longer narrow or belongs to the elite. The middle class is growing,” Sitharaman said in the Rajya Sabha.

She added that the number of people filing returns or with TDS had increased from 5.26 crore to 12.13 crores.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said inflation had never been lower in the country than what it is today. Sitharaman said there was no inflation crisis in India currently, saying it had been tamed.

She said the low inflation was not by chance, but the Centre had tackled it by strategy.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Thursday urged all parties and Parliament members to encourage the active participation of state governments in the announced schemes.

“This is a council of states. I urge all parties and members to encourage their respective state governments to participate actively in the schemes which are announced, many of which, will operate in a challenge mode...” Sitharaman said, adding that if any state chooses to participate in the “mega-schemes”, they can “stand to benefit.”

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: The number of bird-hit incidents reported at airports across the country rose to 1,782 in 2025, from 1,278 recorded in 2024, the government told Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said as many as 6,337 bird-hit incidents were reported at the airports in the country in the last five years, PTI reported. Bird-hit incidents can cause significant damage to aircraft.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has regulations and guidelines in place for management of potential wildlife hazard at licensed airports.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Addressing the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said there was a “macro-economic balance” in the country, saying it is “unique to achieve.”

“t is an achievement to have a wonderful balance, indicating that there is high GDP growth and low inflation which is being held at that level for some time continuously...” Sitharaman said.

The Finance Minister said this was not by “fluke” but was the result of “tremendous effort, granular details and planning, and timely action.”

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid Opposition uproar over remarks targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had earlier accused Rahul of misleading the nation and moved a substantive motion against him in the Parliament, seeking termination of his membership.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday compared the unspent money for the UPA government from 2004-2014, and the NDA government from 2014-2024.

Sitharaman said that she had taken 14 major social and rural sectors for the estimates. She said that between 2004-2014, the unspent money stood at ₹94,060 crore, while between 2014 and 2024, it was at 3,064 crore.

She said the former amount was 6.4 per cent of the cumulative Budget estimates, while the latter is just 1 per cent.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Union minister Kiren Rijiju responded to Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's remarks to the media after being asked on the motion against him.

“He must have said all this because he doesn't want to answer to the media. I have asked many Congress MPs to make Rahul Gandhi understand that if notices can be moved against him if he speaks in contravention of the rules…” Rijiju told ANI.

Rahul had, earlier, hit out at the media, saying, “You are not totally employed by the BJP. At least try and do little bit of objective stuff.” “You can't just take a word they give you... everyday and run your whole show on that. You are doing disservice to this country,” the LoP told media persons outside the Parliament, PTI reported.

Rijiju termed the incident as “wrong”, saying, “If he interrupts and scolds the media, then who will ask the questions? Have we ever stopped the media from asking questions? While we were in the Opposition, we never said anything to the media naming Congress.”

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday alleged that the Centre had “first attacked workers' rights by bringing in the Labor Code, and then, under pressure from America, compromised on farmers' interests.”

In a post on X, Priyanka said “the kind of conditions imposed in the US trade deal will break the back of Indian farmers.” The Wayanad MP alleged that the Centre was “not working for the people, but against them”, while saying that the Congress was against “anti-people policies.”

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Thursday said the Opposition was not allowing “the House proceedings to function smoothly”. “When the House does run, they make absurd and baseless allegations.

When asked to substantiate those claims, they have nothing to present,” Thakur told PTI. He further targeted Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. “Rahul Gandhi’s behaviour and conduct are proving costly for the entire Congress party,” he said.

“The Congress party has become hollow, and it seems they want the House to become hollow as well, with no discussions on issues concerning the public,” Thakur said, according to PTI.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Commerce minister Piyush Goyal addressed concerns on Indian textiles industry being affected by duty differentials vis-a-vis Bangladesh after the neighbouring country signed a deal with US.

“India also has the same facility and India will also get it. Right now, our framework agreement is being made. When the interim agreement is finalised, then you will get to see this in the fine print,” ANI cited Goyal as saying.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Samajwadi Party chief and Lok Sabha MP Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said instead of self-reliance, BJP should adopt the slogan of “dependent-on-others-reliance.”

Samajwadi Party leaders held banners in protest outside the Parliament against the India-US trade deal. Sharing a video of this on X, Yadav said, “This deal is not just against the farming and labor of our country, but against every kind of produce and production, work and business, and employment,” Yadav alleged.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging an inquiry into what he termed as “unethical conduct” of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Dubey referred to “four serious misdemeanours” allegedly conducted by the Congress leader. “He (Rahul) has cunningly dragged the name of former Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Mukund Naravane, by quoting his unpublished book with the ulterior motive of defaming the Indian Army vis-a-vis the Ministry of Defence, along with shamefully involving our Prime Minister..” Dubey wrote in the letter, according to ANI news agency.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Thursday responded to the remarks of Lok Sabha Leader of Oppodition Rahul Gandhi.

“The entire country has witnessed the conduct and uncivil behaviour of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Not following the rules of the House inside the House... If a Union Minister is giving a statement outside the House, then interrupting that statement,” Thakur told ANI news agency.

He further questioned whether these are “the values of Congress leaders.” “... Is Rahul Gandhi above all the rules of the country?... There is a deficiency in his values and thinking…”he added.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Congress general secretary K C Venugopal accused the government of double standards after Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's remarks were expunged from records.

“Whatever Rahul ji said is completely expunged from the records. Whatever Nirmala Sitharaman said, the same remarks were included in the records. The government has double standards...” PTI quoted Venugopal as saying. The Congress general secretary further alleged that the Parliament is “running for the government, not for the opposition.”

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Congress MP K C Venugopal on Thursday asserted that the party was “not bothered” by any motions.

This came after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moved a substantive motion against Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Parliament, seeking termination of his Parliamentary membership and a lifetime ban on the Congress leader from contesting elections.

“We are not bothered about any motions and if you want to hang us, we are ready for that also,” Venugopal said, according to PTI. He alleged that Opposition had “not been getting justice from the chair.”

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: When asked about LoP Rahul Gandhi's statement in Parliament, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, “It is unfortunate that Rahul Gandhi attempts to mislead the nation with baseless and false allegations, making careless and unfounded remarks about people.”

Goyal further slammed Gandhi saying, “He displays a childish behaviour in Parliament, ignoring the established rules, regulations, and traditions of the House.”

"Instead of engaging in serious debates, he resorts to vulgar remarks and unauthorised issues, undermining the dignity of the Parliament...It is beyond imagination that anyone would try to tarnish India’s image on false grounds...India will not forgive such attempts, and the people will give a fitting response to Rahul Gandhi," PTI news agency reported.

Parliament Budget Session Day 12 LIVE: Congress MP KC Venugopal on Thursday said the party is prepared to face the BJP’s privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi.

"We are ready to face privilege motion... The last time they tried to cancel his membership, the people gave him more votes than PM Modi got. We will continue to tell the truth in the Parliament," he said.

Venugopal also accused the government of pressuring the Chair to limit Opposition voices.

"Continuously, we have been complaining that we are not getting justice from the Chair. The government is pressuring the Chair not to give the Opposition a chance to speak. I got to know what Rahul Gandhi said was expunged".