Parliament winter session highlights: Priyanka Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor lead charge against G-RAM-G bill

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Parliament winter session LIVE updates: The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2025’ has been passed in the Lok Sabha.

It was brough to repeal 71 laws which have outlived their utility. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

While 65 of the bills are amendment Acts, which were brought to tweak the existing laws. There are six outdated laws as well.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: "As on December 9, 2025, a total of 19,45,758 RTS (rooftop solar) systems have been installed across the country, benefitting 24,35,196 households," Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Shripad Yesso Naik said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The scheme delivered zero electricity bills to 7,71,580 households, Naik added.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: "An Inter-Ministerial Committee has been constituted to consider the trends with respect to imports and exports and recommend corrective action wherever required," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

He also said that India's trade deficit with China has increased from USD 58.09 billion in April-October 2024 to USD 63.97 billion in April-October 2025.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said, “Modi ji has a deep dislike for two things - the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and the rights of the poor,” he said.

“MGNREGA is the living embodiment of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj. It has been a lifeline for millions of rural Indians and proved to be a crucial economic safety net during the COVID pandemic”.

“Yet, this scheme has always unsettled PM Modi. For the past ten years, his government has systematically tried to weaken it. Today, he is determined to erase MGNREGA altogether,” he added.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: As many as 4,75,814 patent applications are pending at different stages of processing as of November 2025. The Parliament was informed today, PTI reported.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said the number of patent applications being filed each year has nearly doubled over the last 5 years.

This is due to government initiatives.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: TMC MP Mahua Moitra told ANI, "How low will this government stoop... They are insulting our Father of the Nation. He wanted Ram Rajya, but not the kind of G-Ram-G that this government thinks of. They have tarnished the name of Lord Ram..."

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav discussed changing the name of MGNREGA to VB–G Ram G.

The SP MP told ANI, "It has been heard that ED, CBI, IT action is now going to be launched against SP leaders too. So, is this 'Ram rajya' to activate one's agency in states where elections are due?...If this has been renamed, then the seat of Meerut MP Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram, should be allocated next to the PM (in Parliament)...."

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Congress MShashi Tharoor explained why he believes renaming MGNREGA could be flawed.

“The Bill's name is not right because 2 languages have been used while one language should be used according to the constitution. Removing Mahatma Gandhi's name is not good in itself, but they used multiple languages to include 'RAM' in it,” Tharoor told ANI.

"This is not a serious matter. Mahatma Gandhi used to speak about Ram Rajya and the vision of Ram Rajya and Gram Swaraj was one for him. Ram Rajya will prevail in our country when Gram Swaraj is there... We can use the name of Lord Ram in various other contexts, but removing the name of Mahatma Gandhi? This is why I said don't insult the name of Lord Ram, but they did the same..."

He also said, "Many states don't have the money to pay 40% of the wages, as per new mandates. In Kerala, the government is already broke, which means unemployment will increase if there is no money... This means the government did not think well about this and there should be a good discussion about it in the Parliament..."

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Minister JP Nadda said in the Rajya Sabha, "For decades, the responsibility to look after the functioning of the election commission was with one party, in fact, with one family, but there were no questions of mistrusting it then," says JP Nadda.

"Modi government is always ready to discuss important issues".

"There has been an effort to create an atmosphere about the SIR, as if there is something dubious going on, he says, adding that words like vote-chori and vote chor are being used. He expresses surprise that the Congress party is engaging in such allegations," he stated.

They are “creating narrative that losses happen because EC is not doing its job" as this "may appease party cadres”, Nadda said in the Rajya Sabha.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: "This scheme is named after Mahatma Gandhi. He is the Father of the Nation and his name should not be insulted," she said.

"Now the Centre wants the work to continue but is shifting the burden onto states. Poor states will not be able to afford this, and eventually the scheme will collapse," Gandhi said.

“The truth is that in the garb of changing the name of the scheme, they (Central govt) want to scrap this scheme. Why do they want to change the name of this scheme?,” she added.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Lok Sabha resumes proceedings after a brief pause.

During the protest against the G-RAM-G bill, Samajwadi Party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav said BJP doesn't have anything new so they change names.
"Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, awakened the soul of the country. He played the biggest role in our country's freedom struggle... Today, the BJP doesn't have anything new to do, and that is why they are changing the names," he told PTI.

Opposition MPs hold photos of Mahatma Gandhi to protest the MGNREGA renaming issue at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament premises, as reported by ANI.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on the VB-G RAM G Bill, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "... It is not just an administrative tweak, it is an assault on the spirit and philosophical foundation of the rural employment programme."

Opposition MPs, led by Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, protest outside Makar Dwar in Parliament on the MGNREGA renaming issue.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 PM after the introduction of the G-RAM-G bill.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Shivraj Chouhan asks why the opposition is ‘against the name of Ram.’

“Government not only believes in Mahatma Gandhi but also follows his principles,” Shivraj Chouhan said, while introducing VB-G RAM G Bill in LS

“Modi govt has done more for rural development than previous govts,” he added.

Parliament Winter Session LIVE updates: Shivraj Chouhan defended the G-RAM-G bill, citing the Jawahar Rozgar Yojna, noting that Congress had changed its name.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Shashi Tharoor opposes the G-Ram-G bill, saying Mahatma Gandhi's vision of ‘Ram Rajya’ wasn't a political move.

“The bill represents a deeply regrettable and retrograde step,” he said in the parliament, adding that removing Mahatma Gandhi's name would strip the law of its moral compass.

Parliament Winter Session LIVE updates: Opposition rallies against the G-RAM-G bill, with several MPs stating their objections on various points under Rule 72.

Parliament Winter Session LIVE updates: Priyanka Gandhi is opposing the reduction of the Centre's share through the G-RAM-G bill, as compared to MGNREGA.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi is leading the charge against the G-RAM-G bill, objecting that the guarantee becomes subject to demand.

“The bill should not be passed in haste, without taking the advice of the House and without any discussion. This bill should be taken back and the government should table a new bill... Mahatma Gandhi was not from my family, but he was still like a member of my family. This is the emotion of the entire nation. This bill should be sent to Standing Committee for further deliberations. No bill should be tabled and passed because of someone's obsession and prejudice.,” Gandhi said in the parliament.

Parliament winter session LIVE updates: Shivraj Chouhan has asked for leave to introduce the G-RAM-G bill to replace MGNREGA amid uproar.

Nirmala Sitharaman defends The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, saying everything is ‘part of discussion’.