Parliament proceedings began without disruptions on Wednesday, the third day of the Winter Session, after two days of protests and ruckus. The calm followed the resolution of the logjam over the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on SIR a day earlier.
On Tuesday, floor leaders agreed that the Lok Sabha will take up the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram on December 8, and hold discussions on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and on electoral reforms on December 9. The schedule was finalised at an all-party meeting that resolved the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on SIR.
Meanwhile, top leadership of the Congress party, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Legislative Party leader Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and MP Priyanka Gandhi attended the INDIA bloc protest on Wednesday against the labour codes at Parliament premises.
As the Parliament session enters day 3, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to move the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha, as per the list of business. The Bill aims to raise excise duties and cess on tobacco products, with an amendment to the Central Excise Act, 1944.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said tax revenues collected from excise duty on tobacco and related products will be part of the divisible pool, and 41 per cent of that will be shared with the states.
Replying to the debate on the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said this is not an additional tax, and the same tax burden, as currently applicable under the GST regime, will continue.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which seeks to replace the existing GST compensation cess on cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, hookah, zarda and scented tobacco with a revised excise structure.
Lok Sabha members from Punjab on Wednesday raised the issue of the plight of farmers in the state who faced massive losses due to heavy rains in August-September and demanded a special package from the Centre.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, AAP member Malvinder Singh Kang said farmers in 2,500 villages across six districts of Punjab faced severe losses in August-September when the state faced the brunt of heavy rains.
Kang said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers visited Punjab in the aftermath of the natural disaster, but the state has not received a single penny of the assistance promised by the Centre.
"I demand the Government of India announce a special package of Rs 50,000 crore to help the farmers of Punjab," he said.
Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal said heavy rains in Punjab had left five lakh hectares of arable land under silt brought down by the Ravi and Beas rivers which were flowing in spate.
She urged the Central government to make efforts to mitigate the sufferings of farmers of Punjab who had endure huge crop losses due to devastating floods three months ago.
Badal, a former union minister, wanted the government to credit compensation directly into the bank accounts of farmers to ensure they did not suffer due to cross-claims on flood relief between the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab.
Opposition MPs on Wednesday demanded that elections be held in Manipur, as the Upper House took up a resolution to extend the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024, to the state.
The resolution was moved in the Rajya Sabha by Environment and Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav, who said the two houses need to adopt the resolution on the central act since there is President's rule in Manipur.
Participating in a debate on the resolution, Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev slammed the Centre over the continuation of President's rule in Manipur.
"What we are doing today was meant to be done by the assembly of Manipur. Why are we having to do it? Because in the state of Manipur, there is a suspended assembly, there is President's rule. What is the purpose of this 2024 amendment? They talk about the ease of doing business and living. Which one of these things is there in the state of Manipur today, and who is responsible for it?" Dev questioned.
"In a state where people are still living in relief camps, and internally displaced people are protesting outside Raj Bhawan, we are making a mockery of it by bringing a Water Pollution Act 2025 amendment and saying we are helping Manipur," she said.
"If you want to help Manipur, you must immediately hold elections democratically. This is a murder of cooperative federalism," she said.
Speaking on similar lines, DMK MP P Wilson said, "How long will the state assembly be under suspension and Parliament would usurp the role of the state assembly, including passing of this resolution?"
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024, seeks to decriminalise minor offences related to water pollution, enable the Centre to prescribe service conditions of chairpersons of State Pollution Control Boards, and exempt certain categories of industrial plants from statutory restrictions.
It proposes to rationalise criminal provisions and ensure that citizens, businesses and companies operate without fear of imprisonment for minor, technical or procedural defaults.
The Bill also seeks to decriminalise minor offences and replace it with monetary penalty in case of continuation of contravention.
A BJP member in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday demanded withdrawal of "halal certification" to non-meat products, saying it is against the Constitution, which gives the right to all to practise one's own faith.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Upper House, Medha Vishram Kulkarni said the concept of halal is associated with a specific religion and faith and the same should not be imposed on people of other faiths.
She also said private bodies should not be allowed to issue such certification on products that are sold outside the country and it should be done only by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which has the right to issue food certification.
"India is a secular country and people of other faiths also live in India. There are people for whom eating halal meat is against their faith. Such as Hindus and Sikhs, specifically," said Kulkarni, the party's Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra.
Moreover, imposing "halal certified" meat on non-vegetarian people does not seem right in a secular country and it is also against the Constitution because "our Constitution gives the right to respect one's own faith", she said.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday sought justice for Zubeen Garg, the popular singer-composer from Assam who died in Singapore in September, leaving his fans distraught.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Gogoi paid rich tributes to Garg.
"Zubeen Garg was a legendary musician. He passed away in Singapore in September when he was due to perform at a function organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, GoI, and the High Commission of India to Singapore," he said.
"During the 80s and 90s, he gave the people of Assam hope. In recent years, he gave us moral courage and steel in our spine. He taught us how to overcome personal trauma and not be divided by religion and caste," the Congress leader said.
He said the Assam government has said Garg was killed.
"We want to know how, during a programme organised by the Government of India, a murder was committed on foreign soil," Gogoi said.
Garg died on September 19 when he was on a yacht trip with a group of people in Singapore, a day before he was to perform at a live concert.
"Today, the people of Assam miss him. We want justice for him," Gogoi said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that the levy of excise on tobacco will ensure that incidence of tax on the demerit good remains same even after the expiry of the GST compensation cess.
Moving the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, for discussion and passage in the lower House, Sitharaman said since the GST law caps the maximum rate of tax at 40 per cent, the ultimate tax incidence on tobacco after removal of GST cess would come down from the current level if excise duty is not levied.
"In order to ensure that the incidence is not lower than what it was during GST with the compensation cess, we are bringing this excise. In a way we are saying cigarettes should not become affordable now because incidence has become lesser," the minister said.
Sitharaman also said the bill was necessary as the loan taken to meet the revenue loss of states during Covid will be repaid in a "couple of weeks," post which the compensation cess will cease to exist.
"In another, probably, couple of weeks the loans will be completely repaid. The Centre, therefore, wants to make sure that the excise will come back to us so that we can levy the duty," Sitharaman said.
The bill proposes to replace the GST compensation cess which is currently levied on all tobacco products like cigarette, chewing tobacco, cigar, hookah, zarda, and scented tobacco.
Currently a 28 per cent GST plus cess at varied rate is levied on tobacco.
The bill proposes to levy excise duty of 60-70 per cent on unmanufactured tobacco.
Excise on cigars and cheroots is proposed at 25 per cent or Rs 5,000 per 1,000 sticks, whichever is higher.
Cigarettes, not having filters, and of length not over 65 millimetres will attract duty of Rs 2,700 per 1,000 sticks and Rs 4,500 per 1,000 sticks for length over 65 millimetres but not exceeding 70 millimetres.
BJP MPs raised issues ranging from power infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh to banking services in Bihar during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, while a Congress MP sought increase in deposit insurance cover from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
Raising the issue of rising power demand in Uttar Pradesh, BJP's Tejveer Singh said initiatives like smart city, data centre parks and electric mobility have led to record power consumption in the state, creating a burden on meeting energy needs during peak demand hours in many districts.
He called for strengthening the transmission network and energy supply, giving priority to expansion of the green grid in the state through solar parks and rooftop solar installations.
BJP's Dharmshila Gupta sought further strengthening of banking services in Bihar, saying despite positive changes through schemes like Jan Dhan, Mudra, Kisan Credit Card and Self-Help Groups (SHGs), credit flow remains below expectations.
"People are depositing in banks in a big way but Bihar's credit ratio is less, creating problems for farmers, youth, SHGs and small businessmen," she said, urging the Centre to address gaps in credit flow to make Bihar a developed state.
BJP member Shambhu Sharan Patel demanded restoration of halts for trains, including Muzaffarpur-Bhagalpur Express (13420), Banka Intercity Express (13242) and Rourkela-Barbil Intercity Express (18403), besides upgrade of Mankatha Railway Station in Lakhisarai district.
Another BJP member Dinesh Sharma raised the issue of roads and public places still bearing Mughal and British-era names, citing examples like Akbar Road, Lodhi Road and Minto Bridge in Delhi.
Congress MP Neeraj Dangi called for increasing the deposit insurance limit from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, noting that with more banks becoming defunct, there is need for enhanced protection for depositors under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation.
The insurance limit was last raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh in February 2022 following the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank crisis, he said.
Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday flagged concerns related to Sanchar Saathi mobile application in the Rajya Sabha, saying it completely negates the right of privacy of every individual.
Raising the issue, he said a clear apprehension is that features of the application would point out real-time geo-location of every user, monitoring of the search history, financial transaction and a possible monitoring of conversations through SMS and WhatsApp.
"Government of India, Ministry of Communication has purportedly issued an order whereby all cellphone manufacturers and importers of cellphones are compulsorily obliged to upload Sanchar Saathi app. It is also directed that this app has to be pushed into every cell phone and smartphone," Surjewala said.
Surjewala said pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app is a clear breach of privacy of every smartphone and cell phone users of India.
"Would this not completely negate the right of privacy of every individual? And a possible kill switch, sir, will turn every cellphone into a brick. If the government then wants, then every cellphone of every journalist, every opposition leader, every dissident, it will become a pure simple brick by use of a kill switch," said the Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan.
Surjewala said all passwords, information, bank account numbers, personal information of every user stored on the cell phone becomes susceptible, either with a government agency or a hacker, or both in this case. "It also can possibly give a hacker full device control. Look at the implications it is fraught with. Also, sir, it leaves millions of devices exposed for months, for it depends on an upgrade that would be pushed by the government." he said.
"To give you an example, the government pushes an upgrade, Samsung doesn't do it for three months. For three months, all cellphones of that make will be susceptible to be hacked by any hacker in any manner whatsoever, completely compromising the data of every single person," the MP added.
Surjewala demanded that the government clarify the legal authority for mandating a non-renewable application and push a compulsory software update and disclose "what independent security audit and safeguards and misuse prevention mechanisms are in place" for it.
Terming fake news as a threat to democracy, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said there is a need to take strict action against those who create AI-generated deep fake videos and spread false information.
Vaishnaw also informed the Lok Sabha that the government is working on framing new rules for curbing fake news and AI-generated deep fake videos and strengthening the institutional mechanism for that.
"Fake news is a very serious issue. Fake news is a threat to democracy. There is a need to take strict action against fake news and AI-generated deep fake videos," he said during Question Hour.
The minister said the people and the ecosystem which spread fake news don't follow Indian laws, and there is a need to take action against them.
Appreciating the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, headed by BJP member Nishikant Dubey, he said the panel has given many good suggestions, and the government is working on framing new rules and regulations. "There is need for making fine delicate balance between fake news and freedom of speech," he said.
On another question regarding some TV news channels indulging in disseminating alleged false information, the minister said the government and the Press Council of India actively look into such complaints and take action wherever required.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet all BJP MPs from West Bengal in the Parliament premises on Wednesday, party sources told ANI.
This meeting comes ahead of the Parliamentary discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in 12 States and Union Territories, including West Bengal, on December 9.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been a staunch opponent of the SIR exercise in West Bengal.
PM Modi's meeting with the MPs is also crucial as the state is set to undergo the Legislative Assembly elections in 2026.
West Bengal also came into discussion in the Parliament when a question regarding funds allocated under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and Animal Husbandry Development Fund (AHIDF) in the state was raised in the Question Hour in Lok Sabha.
While answering the question, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh of the JD(U) gave an overview of the funds.
"If we want to make a Viksit Bharat, then every state needs to have development. Until we develop every state, it cannot happen. Keeping that in mind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started the PMMSY to revolutionise the fishing industry across the country. But the sad thing is that West Bengal did not support this," Singh told the House.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed a heated exchange on Wednesday after AITC member Dola Sen raised the issue of the Ministry of Home Affairs' November 25 directive to rename all Raj Bhavans in the country as Lok Bhavans during Zero Hour.
"But first of all, we would like to say that neither the Parliament, Assembly, nor the Cabinet is aware of this... They are not even discussing it with you, sir," Sen said.
However, the discussion took a contentious turn when Sen raised additional issues, including MGNREGA, prompting the Chair to intervene and state that the deviated remarks would not go on record.
Leader of the House JP Nadda objected to the deviation, saying, "You permitted her to speak during Zero Hour about the change of name from Raj Bhavan to Lok Bhavan. She spoke about MGNREGA and other issues. I would like to be very clear that because it does not relate to the subject, it should be deleted and it should not be brought on record and only issues related to Lok Bhavan should be admitted."
Chairman CP Radhakrishnan concurred, reiterating that "anything deviated from the subject will not go on record."
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge came to Sen's defence, arguing, "She has not spoken any unparliamentary word. Everything is connected with the subject. And that subject was examined in your office, after that she spoke."
Accusing the government of stifling debate, Kharge said, "The Leader of the House cannot interfere and say whatever is said is unparliamentary and delete it. The Leader (of the House) is bulldozing. You don't want to run according to parliamentary democracy."
The Chair maintained that proceedings were being conducted properly and urged members to stick to listed subjects during Zero Hour.
Nadda defended his intervention, stating, "I never bulldozed", and clarified that he was only requesting that matters related to the subject remain on record.
Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said snooping is neither possible nor will it happen with the Sanchar Saathi safety app, amid a row over his ministry's order asking smartphone makers to preload the state-run cybersecurity app on all new devices.
In Lok Sabha, Scindia said the app is for the protection of the people.
Sanchar Saathi app se "na snooping sambhav hai, na snooping hoga", the minister said during Question Hour.
In the context of the discussions about the app, the minister also said the government want to give power in the hands of the people to help them protect themselves.
The ministry's order dated November 28, mandates all mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install Sanchar Saathi app in all handsets to be sold in India as well as in existing devices through software update. It mandates mobile phone companies to ensure that the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi application is readily visible and accessible to the end users at the time of first use or device setup and that its functionalities are not disabled or restricted.
On Tuesday, Scindia said users are free to delete the app if they don't want to use it.
Lok Sabha on Wednesday took up the Question Hour without disruptions for the first time in the ongoing Winter session, a day after the logjam over the opposition's demand for a discussion on SIR was resolved.
During a meeting chaired by Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday evening, it was decided to hold a discussion in Lok Sabha on the 150th anniversary of national song 'Vande Mataram' on next Monday and on election reforms on next Tuesday.
As soon as the House assembled for the day, obituaries were paid to former members who had passed away recently.
The House then took up the Question Hour.
Since the session began on Monday, proceedings were disrupted by opposition members demanding a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise ongoing in nine states and three Union territories.
Top leadership of the Congress party, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Legislative Party leader Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and MP Priyanka Gandhi attended the INDIA bloc protest on Wednesday against the four labour codes at Parliament premises.
Claiming that the four labour codes propagate "corporate jungle raj," the INDIA bloc MPs held up various banners, and a bigger banner reading "No to Corporate Jungle raj- Yes to labour justice"
Earlier today, INDIA bloc floor leaders held a meeting ahead of the third day of the Winter Session of the Parliament, to chalk out the strategy after the Centre accepted the Opposition's demand to hold a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.