"He did not answer our questions. It was a completely defensive response. I said that a transparent voter list should be given, but he did not answer this. I said EVM's architecture should be provided to all, but he did not say anything about it. I said that BJP leaders are voting in Haryana and Bihar, but he did not say anything about that. He did not say anything about the CJI. Election Commissioner is given full immunity... We are not scared..." Rahul Gandhi said after Opposition MPs walked out of the Lok Sabha during Amit Shah's speech.
"They can boycott 200 times, not even one infiltrator will be allowed to vote in this country...I was speaking about pushing infiltrators out of the country. I levelled numerous allegations against Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, his (Rahul Gandhi's) father, Sonia ji, had they walked out at that time, it would have been logical. They walked out over infiltrators. Our policy is 'detect, delete and deport'. Their policy is 'normalise infiltration, grant them recognition, include them in vote list during election and formalise this..." Amit Shah said.
"I would like to tell you about 3 incidents of voter chori. First, after independence, the PM of the country was to be elected...Sardar Patel got 28 votes and Jawaharlal Nehru got 2 votes. But Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister..." he said.
Second "vote chori" was by Indira Gandhi, when she granted herself immunity after court set aside her election, he said.
Responding to allegations of vote chori raised by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah referred to a plea in Delhi court over Sonia Gandhi allegedly voting in India before becoming a citizen.
"Dispute of third 'vote chori' has just reached civil courts on how Sonia Gandhi became a voter before becoming citizen of India," he said sparking uproar from the Congress MPs.
Congress MP KC Venugopal slammed the remark noting that Shah has commented on a matter pending in the court.
"The court dismissed the plea saying there was no substance in it," Venugopal said.
He further asserted that Sonia Gandhi had not voted before becoming a citizen and challenged Amit Shah to prove it wrong.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's challenge to debate his press conference on "vote chori" allegations, Amit Shah said, "...Parliament won't function as per your wish. I'll decide my order of speech..."
Speaking during the discussion on electoral reforms in Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah refuted allegations of vote chori raised by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
"In his press conference, the LoP levelled allegations that the voter list is not corrected and needs to be rectified. So, what is SIR? It is the procedure to sanitise the voter list...Double standards won't work in a democracy. When you win, EC is great. When you lose, EC is useless and works at BJP's behest..." Amit Shah said.
Intervening during the speech, Rahul Gandhi said, " It's a good idea. Let's have a debate on my press conferences...Amit Shah ji, I challenge you to have a debate on my press conferences."
Speaking during the discussion on electoral reforms in Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the BJP-led Centre had not agreed to the Opposition's demands for a debate on the SIR due to technical reasons.
"For two days, we told the Opposition that this should be discussed later, after two Sessions. But they didn't relent. We agreed...Why did we say 'No'? There were two reasons for the 'No'. One, they wanted a discussion on SIR. I am very clear that there cannot be a discussion on SIR in this House. SIR is the responsibility of the Election Commission. India's EC and CEC do not work under the Government. If discussion is held and questions are raised, who will answer it?" the minister said.
"When they said that they are ready to discuss electoral reforms, we agreed immediately..." he added.
Opposition parties led by the Congress on Wednesday staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha after a BJP MP withdrew, without explanation, a question he had posed to Home Minister Amit Shah on enhancing forensic capabilities in the country.
BJP MP Adiya Prasad had put a question to the Home Minister, which was admitted as a Starred Question.
According to the Question List available on the Rajya Sabha website, Prasad's question was No.2 in the sequence for the Question Hour on Wednesday. However, a correction note said the question may be treated as "withdrawn."
Participating in the debate in Lok Sabha on 'election reforms', former Union law minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said a return to the the old system of ballot papers would mean going back to the days of booth capturing.
There are at least two dozen Supreme Court and high court judgments validating the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said.
Prasad recalled that the Election Commission had invited parties to hack EVMs in its presence but none turned up.
"Now they are raising a hue and cry (against EVMs)," he said.
Prasad also stated that after the recent Bihar elections, not one plea was received to check the micro-controllers of EVMs.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is unconstitutional and illegal. He claimed the Election Commission has no authority to implement SIR through executive orders, as such revisions can only be authorised by Parliament through statutory law. “No executive order can override a statutory provision,” he said.
During the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav urged that all future elections be conducted using paper ballots, citing concerns over transparency and fairness in the voting process.
The Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the selection of Chief Information Officer (CIC) and Chief Vigilance Officer (CVC).
During the Winter Session debate on electoral reforms, Trinamool Congress MP Satabdi Roy accused the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of being designed to harass legitimate citizens.
She called the exercise politically motivated and said that no matter how much the BJP focuses on SIR, it will not help them win Bengal, asserting that the process “will not be able to do anything before Madam,” referring to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The Rajya Sabha is slated to continue its discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, upon reconvening.
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that during the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Congress did not submit a single complaint to the Election Commission.
Ravi Shankar Prasad urged the Chair to delete KC Venugopal’s statements on the Election Commission, arguing that since Venugopal is a petitioner in a related Supreme Court case, he should not comment on the matter in Parliament. The BJP MP said voters in Bihar backed the BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar because “they see our work,” dismissing Opposition allegations over electoral roll deletions.
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad took a swipe at the Congress, saying the Opposition praises the Election Commission only when it wins and questions it when it loses. “If people are not voting for you, what can we do?” he remarked during the Winter Session debates, adding that Congress’ campaign in Bihar over the SIR exercise yielded only five seats.
Congress MP KC Venugopal accused the Election Commission of acting in a partisan manner, saying the Opposition is “worried” by its recent decisions. Citing developments in Bihar, he pointed to the large-scale deletion of voters from electoral rolls, noting that former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi had termed the SIR exercise an “epic exclusion.”
Venugopal said that instead of preventing what he called “anti-national acts like vote-chori,” the Election Commission was enabling them.
Congress MP K.C. Venugopal said the principle of an impartial electoral umpire has collapsed under political pressure, accusing the Election Commission of acting in a partisan manner. “The right to vote is not a mercy from the government, it is a fundamental principle of democracy,” he said in the House.
Citing Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, he added that “vote-chori is an anti-national act, and our Election Commission has been enabling it.” Venugopal also flagged that the Congress party’s accounts were frozen ahead of the 2024 election over a brief delay in filing income tax returns, questioning whether such actions are acceptable in a democracy.
Parliament Winter Session live update: All adjournment motions denied for the day in Lok Sabha.
Several Opposition MPs, led by the DMK, on Tuesday submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking a motion for the removal of Madras High Court judge G R Swaminathan. The move comes after his orders directing the Subramaniya Swamy temple in Madurai to ensure lighting of the deepathoon lamp — and later permitting devotees to do so under CISF protection — triggered a political and communal row.
DMK leaders Kanimozhi and T R Baalu, along with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, submitted the notice carrying over 100 signatures. The MPs alleged that Justice Swaminathan’s conduct raises doubts about impartiality and secular functioning, and accused him of showing undue favour to specific advocates.
The deepathoon lamp issue had earlier sparked heated exchanges in the Lok Sabha, with the DMK accusing the BJP of stoking communal tensions and Union minister L Murugan accusing the state government of denying the right to worship. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Tamil Nadu’s challenge to the High Court order.
Haryana MLAs, along with Haryana Assembly Speaker Harvinder Kalyan, arrive at Parliament to see the proceedings of the House, ANI reported.
TMC leaders, including Sagarika Ghosh and Dola Sen, staged a protest inside Parliament premises on Wednesday, demanding the Centre release West Bengal’s pending MGNREGA dues. The leaders accused the government of withholding funds unfairly and called for the immediate clearance of all outstanding payments.
Opposition MPs from Maharashtra, including NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, protest in Parliament, demanding to rename the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) after Peasants and Workers Party leader DB Patil
Lok Sabha proceedings for the day commence with Question Hour.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s upcoming trip to Berlin has sparked a fresh political flare-up, with the BJP attacking him for leaving the country even as the crucial winter session of Parliament is under way. Calling him “Videsh Nayak”, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla mocked Gandhi for choosing an overseas tour from December 15–20, while the Lok Sabha is scheduled to sit till December 19.
The Indian Overseas Congress has defended the visit as a major outreach initiative. Gandhi will address the Indian diaspora in Berlin on December 17, where IOC presidents from across Europe will meet to discuss NRI issues, organisational strengthening and expanding the Congress’ ideological footprint. Senior leaders including Sam Pitroda and Dr Arathi Krishna are expected to attend. IOC representatives in Austria and the UK said the visit will also open space for discussions with German lawmakers and the Indian community abroad.
Both Houses of Parliament are set to witness fresh debates on Wednesday, with the Lok Sabha beginning discussions on electoral reforms and the Rajya Sabha taking up deliberations on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, leaders including Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju took the floor, sparking intense exchanges. In the Lok Sabha, the NDA and the INDIA bloc engaged in heated debate over electoral reforms and the special intensive revision, with the government accusing Congress of hiding its poll failures and the opposition reiterating allegations of ‘vote theft’.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha debated the national song Vande Mataram, a day after Amit Shah delivered a fiery speech attacking the opposition for linking the discussion with upcoming state assembly polls in West Bengal.
The storm in Parliament is expected to continue on Wednesday, with the Lok Sabha carrying forward the discussion on electoral reforms and the Rajya Sabha deliberating on Vande Mataram, keeping both Houses in a charged and contentious mood.