Parliament Winter Session: Insurance Amendment Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

The proceedings of both Houses have been adjourned for the days. The Parliament will reconvene at 11 am on Wednesday, December 17. 

Union Minister J P Nadda accused the Congress of misleading the country by creating a false narrative of rigging of votes through SIR process and said the Opposition is hurting national interest by questioning the Election Commission in order to hide its electoral failures. Instead of blaming the Election Commission (ECI) and electoral process, Nadda, who is the leader of the Upper House, asked the Congress to find the actual reason for its successive defeats in elections.

The Government has constituted an inter-ministerial committee to monitor export and import trends and recommend corrective action wherever required, Parliament was informed today. The committee includes representatives from the Department of Commerce, Department of Revenue, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Directorate General of Foreign Trade and Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.

"A negative atmosphere was created in the country over SIR. A party like Congress is doing a rally against SIR. This is shameful," said Union Minister JP Nadda during a debate in the Rajya Sabha.

Union Minister JP Nadda has taken a dig at the Congress over SIR debate in the Rajya Sabha.

Union Minister JP Nadda is addressing the Rajya Sabha over a discussion on SIR.

Earlier in the day, bill seeking to raise FDI in the insurance sector to 100 per cent was tabled in the Lok Sabha. The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025, seeks to amend Insurance Act, 1938, Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, as per the bill circulated to members of Parliament.

The opposition on Tuesday vehemently criticised the government's move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MGNREGA) after the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 was tabled in the Lok Sabha. Click here to read more.

Union Minister JP Nadda will address the Rajya Sabha shortly. He will conclude the debate on SIR.

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has tabled the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 was tabled in the Lok Sabha.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, will further develop the villages of the country.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is addressing the Lok Sabha, as the House discusses Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 that will replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MGNREGA).   

"I can't understand the government's need to change the name (of MGNREGA to VB-G Ram G). This bill should be withdrawn immediately. Additionally, it should be sent to JPC," said Congress Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, addressing the Lok Sabha. 

"Every person deserves power, but this proposed bill to remove MGNREGA is against the essence of the Constitution," said Congress Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, addressing the Lok Sabha.

"I criticise the government's bill to replace the MGNREGA," said Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, while addressing the Lok Sabha.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is addressing the Lok Sabha. 

‘The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025’ has been referred to the Joint Committee of Parliament. 

As the Winter Session of Parliament continues to see heated exchanges between the treasury and the opposition, the BJP on Thursday accused a Trinamool Congress MP of smoking an e-cigarette, also known as a vape, inside the Lok Sabha premises. BJP MP Anurag Thakur raised the issue without naming the Trinamool member and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to take note of the violation. Click here to read more.

Congress MP Manish Tewari said the MGNREGA, which was brought by the UPA government led by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, is the most successful scheme. 

"It is a strange circumstance today when you are trying to separate Mahatma Gandhi from Lord Ram. When Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, the words he said were "Hey Ram". This was a centrally funded scheme, and now you are shifting the burden on the states," he said. 

BJP MP Dinesh Sharma has supported the government's move to replace the MGNREGA with VB–G Ram G. 

"The Opposition cannot digest why the name has been changed to a Hindi name. The real problem they have with it is the word 'RAM' in the bill's name," he said. 

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has raised her objections over the government's bill to replace the MGNREGA. Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, she said she cannot understand the government's "obsession with changing the name".

"It involves a lot of expenditure. I don’t understand why they are doing it unnecessarily. Secondly, under MGNREGA, a right was provided, the right to 100 days of employment for the poorest of the poor. And this bill will weaken that right. The way they have added two or three things in this bill, it seems from the outside that they have increased the number of days. Have you increased the wages?" she said.

The proceedings in the Lok Sabha have begun. 

Union Minister Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Monday demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge after some Congress workers allegedly raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the grand old party's mega 'vote chori' rally in Delhi on Sunday. Click here to read more.

YSRCP MP Maddila Gurumoorthy has given an Adjournment Motion Notice in the Lok Sabha over "urgent need for a statutory MSP Act".

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP from Khagaria (Bihar), Rajesh Verma, has received a death threat on social media. An FIR under sections 270, 352(2), 352 and 356 of BNS has been registered at the Cyber police station in the matter, reports news agency ANI.

Setting the stage for a political showdown during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, the Centre is set to introduce a Bill to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MGNREGA). The proposed legislation, Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, seeks to establish a new framework aligned with the government's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. Click here to read more.

BJP MP Shashank Mani has supported Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over his recent statements that the issue of SIR was only raised by the Congress and the National Conference will chose its own issues. 

"I think Omar ji is understanding that the aim of SIR is not to harm anyone but to bring out the real voter list. He realises that this is an issue of electoral reforms only. In this way, people will keep separating themselves from the INDIA alliance," he said.  

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav has said that there is no need to introduce a bill to replace the MGNREA. He said this confirms that the BJP is against Mahatma Gandhi from the beginning. 

"In my opinion, there is no need to introduce this bill at all. The allegations against the BJP after the introduction of this bill have been completely confirmed: that they have been opposed to Gandhi from the very beginning," he told reporters. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a whip to all its Lok Sabha members, instructing them to remain present in the House from December 15 to December 19. The move comes as the Winter Session of Parliament enters its final phase. Click here to read more.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday criticised Congress' vote chori rally and said Rahul Gandhi is only trying to find excuses to blame others for his defeat. 

"They don't talk about vote chori when they win in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. They are not accepting their defeat and only talking about vote chori. Congress has done vote dacoity in the past," he told reporters. 

Congress MP Manickam Tagore has given an Adjournment Motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss air pollution in Delhi-NCR. A similar Adjournment Motion notice has been given by Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan in the Rajya Sabha.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has also questioned the government over bill replacing MGNREGA and called the move an insult to Mahatma Gandhi.

"Under the guise of using the word 'Ram', the Centre is trying to sideline Mahatma Gandhi, which is highly condemnable," he said.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has criticised the government over its bill to replace the MGNREGA and asked why is it removing the name of Mahatma Gandhi? 

"Why is Mahatma Gandhi's name being removed. Mahatma Gandhi is considered the tallest leader not just in the country but in the world, so removing his name, I really don't understand what is the objective? What is their intention?" she told reporters.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a whip to all of its Lok Sabha MPs, directing them to remain present in the House till December 19. This indicates that the government may introduce some key bills in the remaining part of the session.

The government is planning to introduce a bill to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MGNREGA). The proposed legislation, Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, seeks to establish a new framework aligned with the government's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

The Parliament is expected to witness a stormy session on Tuesday, with the opposition planning to corner the government over multiple issues, including Delhi air pollution and bill to replace the MGNREGA.