The parliament's winter session that ends tomorrow has seen repeated adjournments over notes ban
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top ministers ahead of parliament this morning, a day after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi made the explosive claim that he has information on "personal corruption" of the Prime Minister and alleged that he has been stopped from speaking in parliament because of that. The ruling BJP has called it a "joke" and dared Mr Gandhi to go public with the information he claims he has. On the penultimate day of the winter session, parliament is expected to be overrun once again by noisy clashes between the government and opposition; both Houses were adjourned within minutes of opening.
Here are the 10 latest developments:
The Congress has sought an adjournment of regular work today in both Houses to raise the issue of PM Modi's notes ban and the problems that have arisen from the cash crunch that has followed.
"This is for the first time in the history of India that it's the ruling party that is not letting the House function," alleged the Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Rajya Sabha.
The ruling BJP demanded that the Congress first give answers on the AgustaWestland helicopter deal after former Air Chief SP Tyagi, arrested on Friday, alleged that the then Prime Minister's office of the Congress government had tweaked the deal in favour of the UK-based helicopter maker.
Before Houses convened Opposition leaders protested outside against the notes ban. A united opposition also plans to march from parliament to presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday to meet the President and protest against the ban on 500 and 1,000 notes and its impact on the poor.
The winter session of parliament, which began on November 16 and ends tomorrow, had 22 sittings and the government had listed 10 legislations to be discussed and passed, including crucial bills related to the Goods and Services Tax or GST.
Only four bills have been passed, most of them rushed through amid slogan shouting and frequent adjournments, with the opposition disrupting proceedings every day demanding that the Prime Minister explain the notes ban. The Lok Sabha has been operational only about 15 per cent in this session so far, while the Rajya Sabha has seen 17 per cent productivity.
The government has said the Prime Minister is ready to participate in a discussion on the notes ban, aimed at eliminating corruption and black or undeclared money, and has accused the opposition of running away from debate because it has nothing substantial to say.
The two sides have failed to agree on how to hold that discussion - with or without a vote at the end. The adjournment motion that the Congress has moved today entails a vote at the end of discussion.
"Read my lips...the PM is personally terrified of the info I have, we have. It is personal corruption of the PM that we have detailed information on," said Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday minutes after the Lok Sabha was adjourned. He had with him leaders from 15 opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress and the Left.
Why did Rahul Gandhi not raise this for the last 20 days of the winter session of parliament, asked senior union minister Ananth Kumar of the BJP, dismissing as a "sign of desperation" what he called the Congress vice president's "baseless" claim.
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