Winter Session Day 3: Snooping impossible with Sanchar Saathi app, Scindia tells LS
INDIA bloc floor leaders meet ahead of third day of Winter Session to finalise their strategy after government agrees to discuss electoral reforms
Opposition MPs arrived in Parliament for the third day of the Winter Session on Wednesday (December 3) wearing gas masks to protest against the severe pollution in Delhi. INDIA bloc MPs also protested against the four Labour Codes in the morning, while TMC MPs protested against the Centre over pending Central funds due for West Bengal.
Early in the day, the floor leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc held a meeting to finalise their strategy after the government agreed to the Opposition’s insistence on discussing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll under the broader issue of electoral reforms.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, along with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, attended the meeting as the alliance worked to align its approach for the upcoming debates.
The Lok Sabha will take up the matter of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls next Tuesday (December 9), when it is scheduled to be included in a broader debate on electoral reforms.
The decision followed an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla after the House witnessed a complete washout for the second straight day, with disruptions stemming from the standoff between the government and the Opposition over the timing of the SIR discussion. With the Speaker stepping in, both sides were able to move past the impasse and agree on a date for the debate, clearing the way for normal functioning of the Lower House.
The Rajya Sabha, too, continued to face disruption on Tuesday (December 2) over the Opposition’s demand for an immediate debate on SIR. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju reiterated that the government was prepared to participate in such a discussion but declined to specify when it would be held, prompting continued disagreement across the aisle.
Also Read: Centre nod for poll reforms debate; Parliament standoff may end today
Govt sets December 9-10 debate on electoral reforms amid SIR logjam
SIR clash in Rajya Sabha as Chair rejects debate, Opposition walks out
Govt invites Opposition for talks to end Parliament impasse over SIR
Winter session disrupted by anti-SIR protest, Lok Sabha adjourned for the day
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Live Updates
- 3 Dec 2025 1:12 PM IST
Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2pm for lunch
Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2pm for lunch after completion of Question Hour. Lok Sabha proceedind continue.
- 3 Dec 2025 1:08 PM IST
Priyanka Chaturvedi seeks strict action against food, drug adulteration
“Right from contaminated cough syrups that have been taking the lives of infants, prescribed by doctors, and low quality medicines available in the market as well food adulteration that leads to adulteration across the country needs to be brought under control and we need to have more stricter measures and punitive actions against those who are flouting these norms,” says Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Vickram Chaturvedi.
- 3 Dec 2025 1:02 PM IST
Gaurav Gogoi demands justice for Zubeen Garg's 'murder'
“The State Government of Assam says that Zubeen Garg’s death was murder. Then we want to know how that during a programme organised by the Government of India, a murder was committed on foreign soil. We want justice for Zubeen Garg and we request the Government of India to give the highest civilian honour to the late Zubeen Garg,” says Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi in Lok Sabha.
- 3 Dec 2025 12:56 PM IST
Opposition MPs wear gas masks to protest Delhi’s toxic air
Opposition MPs arrived at Parliament on the third day of the Winter Session wearing gas masks to register their protest against escalating air pollution in the national capital. Earlier, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi had remarked that Parliament should add the deteriorating air quality across several regions to its agenda and hold a discussion on the matter. She told ANI that issues such as pollution also deserve attention, along with other pressing concerns needing debate.
Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) slipped back into the “very poor” category on Wednesday after a brief improvement the previous day. Around 7 a.m., the AQI was recorded at 376, edging close to the “severe” threshold and slightly higher than Tuesday’s average reading of 372. The latest figures place the city firmly in the “very poor” band, hovering near hazardous levels.
- 3 Dec 2025 12:52 PM IST
Rajya Sabha Chair asks Derek O’Brien not to disrupt the House
Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan asked Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’ Brien not to create any controversy and not to disrupt the House. The TMC MP responds saying that “I don’t want to create any controversy. I want to thank you for giving me one or two minutes today. Let me explain what our MP said. Our MP said that the government has changed the name of Raj Bhavan to Lok Bhavan. ‘Lok’ means people, and what have you (the government) done for the people? Our MP was explaining with data how the people of Bengal were discriminated against.”
- 3 Dec 2025 12:43 PM IST
Opposition stages protest in Parliament against new Labour Codes
Several Opposition MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest on Wednesday in the Parliament House complex against the recently notified labour codes, calling for their withdrawal. Lawmakers from the Congress, DMK, TMC and Left parties gathered near Parliament’s Makar Dwar, holding placards and posters denouncing the new framework and demanding that the codes be scrapped.
Along with Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the demonstration saw participation from Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, TMC MP Dola Sen, DMK leaders K. Kanhimozhi and A. Raja, CPI(M) MP John Brittas and CPI(ML) Liberation’s Sudama Prasad. The MPs also displayed a large banner declaring, “No to Corporate Jungle Raj, Yes to Labour Justice.”
The Centre notified the four labour codes last month, bringing forward legislation pending since 2020. The Congress has criticised the move, alleging that 29 existing labour laws have simply been bundled into four broad codes-the Code of Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Code on Social Security (2020) and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020).
While the codes introduce measures such as mandatory appointment letters, expanded social security and improved safety provisions, trade unions have objected to changes in retrenchment rules, increased working hours and the higher threshold for government approval on closures and layoffs.
(With agency inputs)
- 3 Dec 2025 12:39 PM IST
Rajya Sabha: Clashes over row on renaming Raj Bhavans to Lok Bhavans
The Rajya Sabha saw sharp exchanges on Wednesday after AITC MP Dola Sen raised concern during Zero Hour over the Home Affairs Ministry’s November 25 order directing that all Raj Bhavans across the country be renamed as Lok Bhavans. Sen said neither Parliament, state Assemblies, nor Cabinets had been informed, adding that the matter had not even been discussed with the Chair.
Tension escalated when Sen moved beyond the renaming directive and brought up issues such as MGNREGA, prompting the Chair to intervene and note that remarks outside the stated subject would not form part of the official record.
Leader of the House J. P. Nadda protested the deviation, arguing that Sen had been permitted to speak specifically on the Raj Bhavan–Lok Bhavan renaming and therefore unrelated references should be removed. He insisted that only comments tied to the notified subject be retained. Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan agreed, stating that any diversion from the topic would be excluded.
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge defended Sen, asserting that her remarks were relevant and had been cleared by the Chair’s office. Accusing the government of curbing debate, he said the House should not be “bulldozed.” The Chair reiterated that proceedings were being conducted correctly, while Nadda maintained he had merely sought adherence to the subject at hand.
(With agency inputs)
- 3 Dec 2025 12:33 PM IST
Surjewala calls the Sanchar Saathi app a breach of privacy
Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, in the Rajya Sabha, terms the Centre’s directive regarding the Sangchar Saathi app as a clear breach of privacy. “The clear apprehension is that the features of the app will monitor the geo location of the user, the search history, every transactio,n including financial ones, by every cell phone user. There is also the possible monitoring of conversations, SMS and WhatsApp messages. Would this not completely negate the right to privacy of every individual? And a possible kill switch will turn the cellophane of everyone, including journalists, Opposition leaders and every dissident into a brick,” he added.
