Parliament remains locked in a political standoff as the government presses ahead with its legislative agenda, while the Opposition continues to demand a discussion on the July 20 police action against student protesters. The FCRA Amendment Bill is also under scrutiny, with the government considering referring it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee amid strong opposition from Congress, DMK and minority groups.
The inquiry report into allegations against former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma is also set to be tabled in Parliament today. Meanwhile, amid speculation that Union Home Minister Amit Shah may make a statement in the Lok Sabha, INDIA bloc parties have decided to continue their protests, insisting that Shah should not be allowed to make a unilateral statement in the House.
Report of an inquiry committee which investigated allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, against whom removal proceedings were initiated over the alleged discovery of unaccounted cash from his official residence, will be placed before the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
According to the list of business of the Lok Sabha for Wednesday, the secretary general will "lay" the two volumes of the report along with oral evidence in the House. The three-member probe panel had submitted its findings to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in May.
The Speaker had constituted the inquiry committee on August 12, 2025, to probe the alleged discovery of wads of cash from the judge's Delhi bungalow.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore gives an Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha to discuss a matter of urgent public importance concerning the reported theft, misappropriation, and irregular handling of donations and valuables offered by devotees at temples in the country.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore gives an Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha to discuss a matter of urgent public importance concerning the reported theft, misappropriation, and irregular handling of donations and valuables offered by devotees at temples in the country. pic.twitter.com/PheDTl1uFa
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2026
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra repsonds when asked about the continuing deadlock in Parliament, asks, "Should we remain silent the way you (the media) do?"
"Who do you think is responsible for this? Are you not answerable to the public when you lathi-charge students and use pellet guns against them, and also use AK-47s on them? Should we just sit quietly like you all ( the media)?"
#WATCH | Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra gets angry at the media on being asked about the continuing deadlock in Parliament, asks, "Should we remain silent the way you (the media) do?"
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2026
"Who do you think is responsible for this? Are you not answerable to the public when you… pic.twitter.com/hrSJkl6PfI
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday told protesting Opposition members that even if their approach and thoughts differ from the ruling front, the country wants the House to function.
He also appealed to the Opposition to allow the House to function, stressing that it was not right for them to tarnish the image of the House by holding protests and shouting slogans.
However, with the Opposition unrelenting, he adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned in pre-lunch session on Wednesday without transacting any business following an uproar over BJP MP Sushmita Dev's alleged derogatory remarks against CPM's John Brittas.
Soon after listed papers were laid on the table at the start of the day, Brittas raised the issue of him being targetted with the "lungiwala" slur by Dev.
While Brittas found support in Opposition ranks, Treasury benches demanded that Dev be heard before passing any order.
Amid a ruckus, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, who ruled that he would call the concerned MPs to his chamber to discuss the issue, adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to move a resolution in the Lok Sabha to refer the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
The motion is listed in the supplementary list of business in the Lok Sabha. The Joint Committee of Parliament on the FCRA Amendment Bill will comprise 21 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday took up the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 for consideration and passage. The Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid din.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, demanded the withdrawal of the contentious FCRA Bill, as the Centre proposed to move a resolution on sending the it to a JPC.
Congress MP KC Venugopal said the Bill was the Centre's way to target NGOs and minority organisations.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav asserted that the entire Opposition is against the Bill.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hit back at the Opposition, saying it should welcome the Bill being sent to the JPC, as they had been demanding. He added that any concerns over the Bill could be raised before the committee.
Amid Opposition uproar, the Lok Sabha passed a motion to send the Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 to a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament.
Following this, the Chairman adjourned the House till 3 pm amid continous Opposition furore.
The report of an inquiry committee investigating allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, against whom removal proceedings were initiated following the alleged discovery of unaccounted cash from his official residence, was tabled in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.
The secretaries general of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha laid the report in both their Houses respectively.
The report is in two volumes along with oral and documentary evidence recorded during the course of the investigation.
The three-member probe panel had submitted its findings to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in May.
A fire broke out in the official residence of Justice Varma on the night of March 14, 2025. Firefighters called to put out the blaze allegedly discovered massive amounts of burnt currency in a storeroom.
Justice Varma has since resigned, and removal proceedings against him have virtually become infructuous. His resignation, however, has not yet been notified by the law ministry.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday to consult the opposition for a debate on students' protests over the NEET paper-leak issue and said he is ready to answer all questions in the House.
In a letter to the speaker, Shah said dialogue and discussions are the only ways to find solutions in a democracy and he has full faith in democracy and democratic institutions.
"I want to request you to kindly consult the opposition. With everyone's consent, allocate as much time needed for the debate. I will sit through the entire discussion and respond to all questions from the opposition during the debate," the home minister said in the letter.
He said the debate should facilitate the views of the opposition and treasury benches on the important issue of students' protests.
"Dialogue and discussions are only ways to find solutions in a democracy and I have full faith in democracy and democratic institutions," Shah said.
Periodic security assessments are conducted both internally and by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) at all nuclear power plant sites, including Kudankulam, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.
External government agencies also carry out assessments of nuclear power plants, the minister said in a written reply to Congress MP Manickam Tagore B’s query in the Lok Sabha on vulnerability assessments and third-party security audits of nuclear plants.
The minister stressed that continuous monitoring and surveillance mechanisms were in place to detect and respond to cyber threats to these plants.
The development has come within a month of a data breach involving electronic files linked to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu.
(PTI)
Citing Union Home Minister Amit Shah's latest letter to Speaker Om Birla, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was ready to begin a discussion on the students’ protests immediately.
He repeatedly appealed to the Opposition to return to their seats, vacate the Well and cooperate with the proceedings.
He further said the Opposition should not run away from debate on students' issues when the Home Minister is ready to answer all their questions
Amid the continued protests, Chair Jagdambika Pal said, “I will get the discussion started. Government and the Home Minister is ready to answer to all your points.”
Amid continued Opposition uproar, Chair Jagdambika Pal adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day.
The Lower House will reconvene on Thursday, 11 am.
Members of Opposition INDIA bloc staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amid protests over Home Minister Amit Shah's absence from the House and the alleged Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft.
When the House reassembled at 2 pm after being adjourned at 11 am, Deputy Chairman Harivansh called members to take up the debate on the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was tabled by Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol on behalf of Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah.
The Chair then called BJP MP Ramrao Sakharam Wadkute to speak on the bill, even as Opposition MPs continued to raise slogans.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge tried to intervene, but was asked by the Chair to speak only on the bill being taken up.
"The person on whose name this bill is... for some reason they are absent (from House) is fine... but it can't happen every day," Kharge said in an apparent reference to Home Minister Shah.
Leader of the House JP Nadda countered him, accusing the Congress leader of misleading the House.
"He is misleading the House. The Government has said we are ready for every discussion... you should not run away from debate," he said.
The Chair then asked Wadkute to continue his speech following which INDIA bloc MPs staged a walkout as the debate continued.
(PTI)
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to broaden the mandate of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) to give loans and grants directly to cooperative societies in the country.
Replying to the debate on the bill, Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol said, "This bill does not have any provision for additional budgetary financial assistance by the government. The proposed amendment only expands the mandate and financial scope of NCDC".
He informed that the amendments seek to strengthen the NCDC and make it more effective in line with the changing times.
"These amendments are not just limited to strengthening NCDC but will strengthen the entire cooperative ecosystem, make it more modern and independent while also contributing to the country's progress," Mohol said.
(PTI)
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday accused the Congress of "running away" from a discussion on students’ protests over the NEET paper leak, describing the Opposition’s decision to shun the debate as "unthinkable and incomprehensible" despite the government being ready to respond.
BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya, supporting the proposal to rename Kerala as Keralam, urged the government to change West Bengal’s name to Pashchim Bongo, saying its present name reflected the British attempt to divide India and Pakistan. He also sought the renaming of Bakhtiyarpur railway station, named after Bakhtiyar Khilji, who he said destroyed Nalanda University.
RLM MP Upendra Kushwaha also backed the Keralam proposal, saying name changes were important and should be made in good faith. He urged the Centre to rename Patna as Patliputra, citing Bihar’s history, and said, “At some point, Bihar’s history was India’s history.”
Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill to rename Kerala as Keralam, with the Rajya Sabha clearing the legislation with a voice vote.
The Lok Sabha passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, on Tuesday.
The Kerala Assembly passed a resolution in 2024, urging the Centre to bring a law to change the name of the state to Keralam.
The Kerala government had forwarded a resolution passed by the state assembly regarding the name change to the Centre in June 2024.
Subsequently, the President of India referred a Bill to the state legislature for expressing its views, and later, the state Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution agreeing with the Bill.
The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill provides for such alteration of the name of the state of Kerala and contains necessary amendments to the provisions of the Constitution and also consequential provisions, according to the Bill's statement of objects and reasons.
Amendments will be made in the First Schedule to the Constitution by modifying the name of the state of Kerala as Keralam in accordance with Article 3 of the Constitution.
(PTI)
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday adopted a motion to refer the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament.
The motion, moved by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, was adopted by voice vote in the upper house.
Lok Sabha has already passed a motion to refer the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament for further scrutiny, amid strong Opposition protests and demands for its withdrawal.
