The Lok Sabha is currently debating on election reforms in the Lower House on Tuesday (December 9, 2025).
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.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha is continuing with the discussion on the 150th Anniversary of the National Song 'Vande Mataram'
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will initiate the debate on election reforms in the Lower House.
Congress MPs Vijay Vasanth and Manickam Tagore have submitted adjournment motions seeking a discussion on the widespread flight disruptions following mass cancellations by IndiGo Airlines.
“I rise to move an Adjournment Motion to urgently discuss the colossal aviation meltdown that has unfolded before the entire country, exposing not only the failure of IndiGo’s operations but also the complete breakdown of the Government’s responsibility towards its citizens,” Vijay Vasanth said in his motion.
“Why did the Government sit idle until chaos forced its hand? Why was there no immediate intervention, no public advisory, no emergency task force? Why were corrective actions, such as fare caps, route redistribution, and DGCA scrutiny, taken only after passengers suffered nationwide misery?” he added.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings began at 11 am on Tuesday.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday submitted a notice under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha, seeking suspension of regular business to discuss the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Uttar Pradesh.
In the Upper House, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to open the discussion on SIR, ANI reported. A total of 10 hours has been allocated for the full debate across both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
TMC leaders held a silent protest against the government while carrying photos of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore on Tuesday.
Earlier, TMC launched a sharp attack on the BJP on X, saying for years Bengal had watched the BJP "speak in two tongues, pretending to respect Bengal while repeatedly spitting on the legacy of our greatest minds".
Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said “Today, the discussion on election reforms will begin in the Lok Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, a special discussion will be held to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram. Members of the Opposition will also speak, and the government will have an opportunity to clarify the false narratives that have been created.”
He added, "The people place their trust in democracy, they participate in the electoral process and cast their votes, so it is important that no one is misled by false narratives. This debate will allow us to present our position clearly."
Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told the Lok Sabha that operations at IndiGo are steadily returning to normal amid the ongoing crisis. He said the DGCA has issued notices to the airline and that strict action will follow, reiterating that passenger safety is “non-negotiable.” The disruptions, he noted, stemmed from internal rostering problems.
Naidu said more than Rs 750 crore has already been refunded and that re-bookings have been completed without any additional charges.
The minister stressed that IndiGo will be held fully accountable and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening India’s aviation ecosystem. He added that authorities will remain vigilant until full normalcy is restored.
Congress MP Manish Tewari initiates discussion on SIR in Lok Sabha.
Congress leader Manish Tewari said in the Lok Sabha that the most significant election reform was implemented by Rajiv Gandhi, who lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
Congress MP Manish Tewari criticised the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Parliament, stating that the Election Commission lacks legal authority to conduct it nationwide.
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.”
Congress MP Manish Tewari has questioned whether elections should revert to paper ballots or if counting should rely entirely on VVPAT slips instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs), citing concerns that EVM votes could be tampered with.
Manish Tewari has slammed the BJP government, alleging that it misused public funds by distributing cash under the pretext of welfare schemes.
He said, “Government funds have been misused, with cash being transferred into people’s accounts 15 months ahead of the elections.” Tewari said that such transfers could potentially sway voters, raising questions about the fairness of the electoral process.
‘I suggest that two members, LoP RS and CJI, be added to the existing 3-member panel to choose the CEC and ECs’, Congress MP Manish Tewari said in Lok Sabha.
BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal hit back at Congress over ‘vote chori’ allegations and massive defeat in Bihar amid the ongoing debate on SIR and electoral reforms in Lok Sabha.
He said, ‘First vote chori happened in 1947, when Congress working committee was with Sardar Patel but Nehru was made the PM'.
‘Vote chori also happened in 1975 when Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency’, he added.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah initiates debate on 'Vande Mataram' in Rajya Sabha
SP MP Akhilesh Yadav has raised the recent deaths of BLOs over ‘work pressure’ amid the ongoing SIR work.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav has alleged “vote dacoity” in the Rampur Lok Sabha by-election, claiming that on polling day, police and local administration prevented people from leaving their homes. He said that it was the first time the BJP won the seat.
“We have documented such instances and submitted them to the Election Commission, but no action has been taken,” Yadav said.
Yadav stressed that electoral reforms are possible only if the Election Commission is unbiased. Supporting Congress proposals, he called for revisiting the process of appointing the EC and moving back to paper ballots. “If technologically advanced nations like Germany and the United States can vote by paper, why are we still using EVMs?” he asked.
“There is no vote-chori, there is vote dacoity,” he asserted. “If elections were truly fair, the BJP would not win a single seat.”
Home minister Amit Shah repeated PM Modi's statement and targeted Congress over former PM Indira Gandhi's Emergency imposition in 1975.
His statement was met with massive ruckus from the opposition leaders who raised objections to Shah's speech.
‘Those who wanted to sing Vande Mataram were jailed by Indira ji’, Shah said.
We don't abstain from Parliament, nor run away from discussing issues; ready to discuss anything, says Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha.
LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “bringing up a discussion on Vande Mataram” and “disrespecting national heroes.”
He added, "PM Modi leaves no chance to insult Jawaharlal Nehru, and Home Minister Amit Shah follows the same."
During a Rajya Sabha debate on 'Vande Mataram', senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, "When Mahatma Gandhi started the non-cooperation movement in 1921, lakhs of freedom fighters from the Congress went to jail chanting 'Vande Mataram'.
What were you doing? You were working for the Britishers."
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the Prime Minister and Home Minister for singling out Jawaharlal Nehru.
Kharge noted that the Congress Working Committee, including Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, and Govind Vallabh Pant, had collectively decided that only the first two stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' should be sung at national gatherings.
"By targeting Nehru, you are ignoring the role of all other leaders who took this decision," Kharge said.
Kharge accused the BJP and the Sangh of not hoisting national flag for decades. He said they have just woken up from slumber.
It was Congress that made Vande Mataram the slogan of freedom movement, he said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said India is a fabric of 1.5 billion people, and it is woven together by votes. “Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Vidhan Sabhas, Panchayats, none of them would exist without the vote. Any achievements we have seen so far, they all exist because of vote,” he said.
During the debate on electoral reforms, Rahul Gandhi took aim at the RSS, saying the idea that every person in India is equal "disturbs my friends in RSS." He further said the RSS fundamentally does not believe in equality, but believes in a hierarchy.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the BJP during the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, accusing the party of capturing democratic institutions. Rahul said there is institutional capture of the Election Commission that directly controls the election system of our country.
“The ECI is colluding with those in power to shape the election,” he said. He added that he has given proof of how the EC is colluding with those in power to shape elections.
He further alleged that many other institutions such as the ED, NIA and CBI, have been captured as well.
Speaking in the House during the debate on electoral reforms, Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the central government, saying it altered the process for selecting election commissioners to favour the ruling party.
He asked why the Chief Justice of India (CJI) was removed from the selection panel for appointing election commissioners. He also asked why the prime minister and the home minister gave the gift of immunity to election commissioners by changing the law. He further questioned about the change in the law on CCTV footage.
During the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that India is not only the world’s largest democracy but “the greatest democracy.” He said there is no bigger anti-national act than 'vote chori', adding that when votes are destroyed, the idea of India is destroyed.
On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi again claimed irregularities in the Haryana voter rolls. He said the Haryana elections were stolen and theft was ensured by the Election Commission.
He said that for electoral reform, machine readable voter list should be given to all parties month before polls. He also urged to take back the law allowing CCTV footage destruction.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey hit out at Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday over his attack on EVMs, saying the voting machines were introduced in the country by his father, late Rajiv Gandhi, during a pilot project in 1987.
"All opposition parties spoke about EVMs. I want to tell the House that the EVMs were first introduced by the Congress. Rajiv Gandhi had brought EVMs as part of a pilot project in 1987 and then, in 1991, the Narasimha Rao government introduced the electronic machines for voting," he said.
"The 1961 committee had also recommended that polls should be conducted using EVMs to avoid rigging," he said.
Countering Gandhi, Dubey said, "They (Congress) talk of transparency. Congress worker Batuk Singh was the UPSC chairman for 10 years. The country's first chief election commissioner, Sukumar Sen, was appointed as Sudan's governor. V S Ramadevi was later appointed as Himachal Pradesh's governor. T N Seshan was made a poll candidate against the BJP from Ahmedabad, M S Gill remained a cabinet minister for 10 years after his retirement."
"And the Congress still talks of honesty and transparency," Dubey said.