Parliament Winter Session Live: Cong MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demands restoration of ’71 war photo

Parliament Session Live: Speaking in Lok Sabha, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi brought up in the issue of the removal of the photo of the Pakistani Army is surrendering in front of the Indian Army in the 1971 war.

She said, “I want to salute the brave soldiers who fought for us in the war of 1971. Whatever was happening in Bangladesh, no one was listening to the voice of the people of Bangladesh, our Bengali brothers and sisters. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister at that time, I want to salute her. She showed courage in the most difficult situations and showed such leadership that made the country victorious.”

Parliament Session Live: Sitharaman demanded apology from Congress MP Jairam Ramesh for “falsely” accusing her of “lying.”

“Accusing me of lying is now clearly in the blood of the Congress,” she remarkd.

Parliament Session Live: “The judgement that came from the Supreme Court in the Shah Bano case, the Congress passed the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Divorce act 1986 which denied Muslim women their right to alimony. Our party passed the Nari Shakti Adhiniyam whereas the right of Muslim women was denied by this act,” she said.

Parliament Session Live: Sitharaman said she know politicians who named their children “Misa” to remember “those black days” (Emergency) and now “they wouldn’t even mind having an alliance with them.”

She was referring to Misa Bharti, daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav. Bharti was named “Misa” after Maintenance of Internal Security Act.

Lalu Yadav, who was jailed during Emergency, is now an ally of the Congress, which imposed the Emergency in June 1975.

Parliament Session Live: The Congress party, according to Sitharman, “brazenly kept amending the Constitution to help the family and dynasty.”

She added, “These amendments were not to strengthen democracy but to protect those in power.”

The minister was referring to the Gandhi family.

Parliament Session Live: “Majrooh Sultanpuri (poet) and Balraj Sahni (Actor) are both jailed in 1949. During one of the meetings organized for the mill workers in 1949, Majrooh Sultanpuri recited a poem that was written against Jawaharlal Nehru and therefore he had to go to jail. He refused to render an apology for the same and was jailed,” said Sitharaman.

Parliament Session Live: “’Nehru’, a political biography which was written by Michael Edwards in 1975 was banned. They banned also a film called ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’ just because it questioned Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son (Sanjay Gandhi),” said Sitharaman.

Parliament Session Live: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “The Supreme Court in 1950 had ruled in favour of the Communist magazine ‘Cross Roads’ and the RSS organisational magazine ‘Organizer.’ But in response, the (then) interim government thought that there was a need for a first Constitutional amendment and that was brought in by the INC and it was essentially to curb the freedom. So India, a democratic country which prides itself even today about freedom of expression saw the first interim government coming up with a Constitutional amendment which was to curb the freedom of speech of Indians and that within one year of adoption of the Constitution.”

Parliament Session Live: “Post Second World War, over 50 countries had become independent and had their Constitution written. But many have changed their Constitutions, not just amended them but literally changed the entire feature of their Constitution. But our Constitution has stood the test of time, of course, yielded itself to very many amendments,” said Nirmala Sitharaman.

Parliament Session Live: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman begins debate on Constitution in the Rajya Sabha.

Parliament Session Live: According to a top government functionary, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, after moving the bill, will request Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer it to a Joint Committee of Parliament for wider consultations.

Parliament Session Live: In Lok Sabha, Congress MP moved an adjournment motion notice to discuss the detention of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities.

In 2024 alone, 350 fishermen and 49 fishing boats have been apprehended, the highest in the last six years, the notice said.

Parliament Session Live: AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh has moved a suspension of business notice, demanding a discussion on the law and order situation in Delhi.

Singh’s letter read, “I would like to draw your attention to the rapidly rising crime and deteriorating law and order in Delhi. Delhi, which is the administrative centre of the country, has now become a hub of crime. The incidents happening here are posing a serious threat to the safety of not only citizens but also public representatives.”

Parliament Sessio Live: The Rajya Sabha will discuss “all positive and negative aspects” of the Constitution, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said, and alleged that constitutional posts were being “misused” and Dalit and backward classes were being “oppressed.”

Parliament Sessi Live: Speaking to the media, Raut accused the Narendra Modi govt of “working against the Constitution of India.”

Raut also claimed that the judiciary and Election Commission were under the “pressure” of PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.