Parliament winter session highlights: Rahul warns EC of ‘retroactive action’; Lok Sabha adjourned for the day

This live blog has now ended.

Parliament witnessed a stormy day on Tuesday as Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms. During his speech Gandhi reiterated Congress' claim of widespread irregularities in voter rolls.

He said that there were “lakhs and lakhs of duplicate voters” in states like Haryana and Bihar. He also repeated his allegation about a “Brazilian woman” appearing “22 times” on Haryana’s rolls.

Accusing the Election Commission of avoiding scrutiny, he said “vote chori is an anti-national act” and went on to warn that the opposition would “change the law retroactively” and “come and find you.”

Meanwhile, in the Rajya Sabha, a massive ruckus erupted after Union minister JP Nadda accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge of “hijacking the discussion” by raising issues like foreign policy and the economy during a debate marking 150 years of Vande Mataram.

Parliament winter session live updates: Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, he said, “Rahul Gandhi carries 'Constitution book' everywhere, but he doesn't know what's written inside it,” PTI news agency quoted him as saying.

Parliament winter session live updates: Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s address in the Lok Sabha during the electoral reforms debate, BJP MP Pradeep Kumar Singh said, "Rahul Gandhi still does not understand... He does not know the country's temper, which is why he says baseless things, and the result shows up in the elections," ANI news agency quoted him as saying.

Parliament winter session live updates: Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Narhari Amin accused the Congress leader of making baseless allegations regarding the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

"Rahul Gandhi has been screaming about the SIR for the last 6 months. When the opposition demanded it in the House, the government allowed a 10-hour discussion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha each on the SIR," Amin said.

He added that Gandhi’s claims lacked evidence, noting, “He cannot prove anything... This procedure will be conducted in all the states after these 12 states,” ANI news agency reported.

Parliament winter session live updates: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday was adjourned till 11:00am tomorrow during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. The Upper House had been engaged in a special discussion to mark the 150th anniversary of the national song Vande Mataram.

Parliament winter session live updates: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day, while the Rajya Sabha extended its sitting till 8 pm on Tuesday. The Upper House is holding a special discussion to mark the 150th anniversary of the national song Vande Mataram.

Parliament winter session live updates: Referring to Gandhi’s allegations on the Bihar polls, BJP MP Sanbit Patra said the Congress still had time to seek evidence. "For Bihar elections, Rahul Gandhi and Congress have 20 more days left. The CCTV footage are safe. If Rahul Gandhi wants, he can do his homework, and if he thinks he needs any CCTV footage from Bihar, he can ask for it," ANI news agency quoted Patra as saying.

Parliament winter session live updates: BJP MP Sambit Patra on Tuesday rebutted Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the Lok Sabha, arguing that the Congress leader had misunderstood the country’s election procedures.

"Rahul Gandhi asked why the CCTV footage is destroyed after 45 days of the election. I think Rahul Gandhi needs to learn a great deal about the election process in India," Patra said while speaking to reporters.

He added that the 45-day window is part of long-standing law. "It is the law of India that, within 45 days of an election, you can go to the court and challenge an electoral process. This law was not made after PM Modi became the Prime Minister. This law was made after India's independence."

Parliament winter session live updates: BJP MP Sambit Patra accused the Leader of Opposition of misleading the House and issuing unprecedented threats to the Election Commission.

Patra told reporters outside Parliament. He added that "never before in the parliamentary history of India would you find the LoP or any other leader threatening a judicial body like the Election Commission and the Election Commissioner, which are unconstitutional authorities, with dire consequences. 'If we come to power, we will not spare you.' This kind of threat issued by Rahul Gandhi today is a sign of arrogance and ignorance."

Parliament winter session live updates: Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha, Patra said, “The facts presented by LoP Rahul Gandhi on the floor of the House while participating in the discussion on election reforms were full of falsehoods. They were not facts, they were lies.”

Parliament winter session live updates: Addressing the Lok Sabha during the electoral reforms debate, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi issued a sharp warning to the Election Commission.

“I want to assure the Election Commissioner that they might be under the impression that this law lets them get away with it, let me remind them, don’t worry, we are going to change the law, we are going to change it retroactively and we are going to come and find you,” he said, accusing the poll body of misusing legal protections.

Parliament winter session live updates: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday outlined what he called the essential steps for meaningful electoral reform during a debate in the Lok Sabha.

He argued that the process must begin with transparency in voter rolls, saying, "Number one, give machine-readable voter lists to all political parties one month before the election."

Gandhi also questioned recent legal changes, adding, "The second step is to take back the law that allows the destruction of CCTVs and CCTV footage."

He pressed the government to disclose the functioning of voting machines, saying, "Tell us what the architecture of the EVM is? Give us access to the EVM. Let our experts go and see what is inside the EVM. Till today, we have not had access to the EVM."

Calling for greater accountability within the poll body, he concluded, "Finally, please change the law that allows the election commissioner to get away with whatever he wants to do. That's all the electoral reforms you need..."

Parliament winter session live updates: Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the debate on electoral reforms, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi targeted the government over alleged voter roll irregularities across multiple states. Referring to Bihar, he said, "Let me say something about SIR in Bihar. Why is it that after the SIR in Bihar, 1.2 lakh duplicate photos exist in the voting list in Bihar? If you've cleaned up the voting list, why are there 1.2 lakh duplicates in Bihar?"

Gandhi added that these discrepancies were not limited to one state. "We've not just proven this about Haryana. We have proven this in Karnataka, we have proven this in Maharashtra, and I am absolutely certain this is how you win elections in Madhya Pradesh, in Uttar Pradesh, in Bihar, across the country..." he said, accusing the ruling party of manipulating voter lists nationwide.

During the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju interrupted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech, accusing him of straying from the topic. “Congress MP is wasting everyone’s time and should stick to the topic,” Rijiju said, reported PTI news agency.

During the Winter Session of Parliament on Tuesday, Congress leader and LoP Rahul Gandhi raised sharp criticisms of the Election Commission in the Lok Sabha.

He questioned why a woman’s photograph appeared multiple times on the polling list, why “lakhs and lakhs of duplicate voters exist", and why a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh was listed to vote in Haryana. “These are straightforward questions, and there is clear proof that I have put before the country. But the Election Commission has no answer to these questions,” Gandhi said.

Parliament winter session live updates: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid electoral reforms debate.

He said, "On 30th January, 1948, three bullets pierced the chest of Mahatma Gandhi. Nathuram Godse assassinated the father of our nation. Today, our friend does not embrace him. Today, our friends have pushed him away. This is an uncomfortable truth. But that's not where the project ended. As I said, everything has emerged from the vote. All the institutions have emerged from the vote. So it's obvious that the RSS has to capture all the institutions that have emerged from it. After Gandhiji's assassination, the next step of the project was the wholesale capture of India's institutional framework."

Parliament winter session live updates: During the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi asserted that India is not only the world’s largest democracy but “the greatest democracy.” Stressing the need to protect the integrity of the electoral system, he said, “Vote chori is an anti-national act."

Parliament winter session live updates: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday again claimed irregularities in the Haryana voter rolls. “We have a Brazilian woman who appears 22 times in the Haryana voter list,” he said, adding that “the election was stolen and the theft was ensured by the Election Commission.”

Gandhi argued that the ECI “has no answer to these questions” as he accused the poll body of failing to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process.

Parliament winter session live updates: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the ruling BJP during the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, accusing the party of undermining democratic institutions. “BJP is directing and using Election Commission to damage the Indian democracy,” he said in the House.

Parliament winter session live updates: During the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms on Tuesday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took aim at the RSS, alleging, “They do not believe in equality, they believe in hierarchy and believe they should be on top of that,” Gandhi said in the Lower House

Parliament winter session live updates: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addresses Lower House amid electoral reforms discussion.

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.

Parliament winter session live updates: Speaking in Lok Sabha in debate on election reforms, Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh said, “Our election process is the best in the world, and there is no scope for any improvement in it.”

Parliament winter session live updates: Union home minister Amit Shah argued that while India traditionally celebrates important milestones of its cultural and national heritage, Vande Mataram did not receive its due because of decisions taken by past Congress governments.

“When Vande Mataram completed 50 years, the country was not yet independent. When its golden jubilee arrived, Jawaharlal Nehru split it into two parts. When it turned 100 years old, there was no glorification because those who spoke Vande Mataram were imprisoned by Indira ji during the Emergency,” ANI news agency quoted Shah as saying.