Parliament Winter Session highlights: Both houses adjourned till 11 am on Thursday

The INDIA bloc MPs have submitted an impeachment notice against Madras High Court Judge Justice GR Swaminathan over the lamp lighting row
"MPs have a constitutional right to move an impeachment motion if they feel something is wrong in court," Congress MP Manish Tewari told the media

Parliament Winter Session live update: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has asked why DGCA officials have not been held accountable for IndiGo crisis.
"It is absolutely unconvincing and unsatisfying because people have been repeatedly pointing out the problems passengers were facing and how a monopoly was being created. A private operator will naturally try to increase its market share, act arbitrarily, and maximise its profit... While this monopoly was forming, what were the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Competition Commission doing?... Why were DGCA officials not held accountable?... So, it clearly shows that this was a matter of corruption and collusion," she told PTI

TMC leaders, including Sagarika Ghosh and Dola Sen, hold a protest inside Parliament premises over pending MNREGA funds, demanding the timely release of dues to West Bengal.

Parliament proceedings begin for the day.

TMC MP Kirti Azad has said that the NDA would be “too small” in front of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal.
“Their (NDA) plans won't succeed in Bengal (elections). They will seem too small in front of Mamata Banerjee,” Azad told PTI.

Congress MP Hibi Eden said that the EC needs to be a neutral agency but has become a “caged parrot”.
“The Election Commission should be a neutral agency. Right from the very beginning, there has been a huge conspiracy, starting with the appointment of the Election Commission of India. The Chief Justice of India was part of appointing the Election Commission, but unfortunately, this government blatantly removed the CJI from the panel… Unfortunately, like any other central agency, the Election Commission of India has also become a caged parrot,” he told PTI.

Parliament Winter Session live update: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi attacked Rahul Gandhi over his Germany visit and said, “Rahul Gandhi claims he doesn’t get an opportunity to speak, but he is usually out of India. Even during the Bihar elections, he was travelling abroad. He is a part-time, non-serious leader.”

Parliament Winter Session live update: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi backed Rahul Gandhi's statements in the Lok Sabha on SIR.
"With the kind of election results coming out, people being pulled out of the voter rolls and additions being made, a person with the same photo appearing 20-30 times in an electoral roll in different booths is a cause of concern. We are not going to have an electoral democracy if a compromised Election Commission conducts elections. He (LoP Rahul Gandhi) raised some valid points (in Lok Sabha). Aaditya Thackeray and LoP Rahul Gandhi have raise valid points..We have seen what happened in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, and soon we will see what happened in Bihar...If being the responsible Opposition and asking questions is a drama for them, then God save India," she told ANI.

Parliament Winter Session live update: RJD MP Manoj Jha has said that the statements on voter fraud made by the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, in the Lok Sabha “cannot be taken lightly”.
“You cannot take what the Leader of Opposition has said in the Parliament, lightly. We approached the Election Commission before approaching the Supreme Court with the documents. When we question EC, then the number of BJP leaders stand up to answer based on WhatsApp knowledge. It shows that there is a relation between them,” he told PTI.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawala said on Wednesday that LOP means “leader of paryatan”, attacking Rahul Gandhi.
"Rahul Gandhi has once again proved that LOP means leader of 'paryatan' (tourism). Rahul Gandhi is a non-serious politician. People are in work mode, but he is in vacation mode... even when Parliament is in session until the 19th, he is going abroad. So his priorities are clear. Now I don't know if he is going to Germany for any reason, but it might be only to spew venom against India. So once again, he is going abroad for his vacation and to defame India," Poonawala told ANI.

Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai has called the Vande Matram discussion “a self-goal” for the BJP.
"Vande Mataram is a self-goal...They don't have five freedom fighters who fought for independence. Everyone now knows who opposed the Quit India Movement, who opposed Vande Mataram, or who opposed the tricolour. Therefore, those who have nothing of their own try to snatch it from others. The Bharatiya Janata Party is also engaged in the same effort," he told ANI.

The 6th Session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the 269th Session of the Rajya Sabha commenced on Monday, December 1, marking the beginning of the Winter Session of Parliament. The session will conclude on December 19

Congress MP Manish Tewari raised concerns in the Lok Sabha over the growing trend of cash transfer schemes being used ahead of elections and demanded a constitutional amendment to restrict such practices for governments with high debt burdens.

Speaking in the lower house on Tuesday, Tewari said that if the debt-to-GDP ratio of any state or the central government crosses 20 per cent, they should not be allowed to carry out cash transfers, stating that such practices put an unsustainable burden on the national exchequer and risk pushing the country into a financial crisis.

"This growing trend of distributing money, that as elections approach the government starts transferring cash directly into people's accounts, what kind of democracy is this?" he said, ANI reported.

"Is this what democracy has become, that 15 days before elections, 20 days before, a month, or even two months earlier, you start depositing money into people's accounts? And this is why I am concerned, there is a serious misuse of democracy, and a major manipulation of India's revenues," he added.

Meanwhile, on the list of business for the day, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bhartruhari Mahtab and Congress MP K Gopinath will lay the "Final Action Taken" statements on recommendations contained in six reports of the Standing Committee on Finance, ANI reported.

Parliament Winter Session live update: The Rajya Sabha is also set to take up discussion on electoral reforms after further discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram on Wednesday, ANI reported.

In the Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to initiate the discussion on SIR.

Parliament Winter Session live update: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on Wednesday moved a notice under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha, demanding suspension of business to discuss the "grave public health emergency caused by toxic air pollution in Delhi", ANI reported.

The Rajya Sabha will continue the discussion on the 150th anniversary of the national song 'Vande Mataram' on Wednesday, following a stormy day on Tuesday, according to the list of business.

Discussion on electoral reforms, that was initiated on Tuesday, will continue in Lok Sabha, according to list of business.