Parliament's Winter Session May End A Week Early On Friday: Sources

Parliament's ongoing Winter Session may end on Friday, a week ahead of schedule, sources said today.  The decision, the sources said, was taken at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, which manages the schedule of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and is headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. 

Several Opposition leaders, sources said, had urged the government and Mr Birla had cited the upcoming Christmas and New Year festivities and requested for an early end to the session. 

The Winter Session, which began on December 7, has seen stormy scenes and frequent adjournments. Heated exchanges between the treasury and Opposition benches over the tension on the India-China border has been the highlight of the session, following the clash between soldiers of the two sides near the Line of Actual Control earlier this month. 

Soon after the Army put out a statement with details of the clash, the Opposition had demanded a detailed discussion in parliament on the border tension. The government did not agree to this.

Instead, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the clash, and assured that there have been no serious injuries or casualties in the fight. He said the Chinese troops had tried to "transgress" the LAC and "unilaterally change the status quo". The attempt was contested by our troops in a "firm and resolute manner" he said. 

The government also launched a counter-attack on the Congress on the issue, with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar objecting to party MP Rahul Gandhi's use of the word "pitai (beating)" to criticise the government over the tension on the LAC. "Our jawans are standing in Yangtse at 13,000 feet, defending our border, they do not deserve to have the word 'pitai'. The word 'pitai' shouldn't be used for our jawans," Mr Jaishankar said. 

This morning, a fresh row erupted in Rajya Sabha as the ruling BJP demanded an apology from the Congress over controversial comments by its chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Yesterday, at a rally in Rajasthan's Alwar, the Congress president said the Grand Old Party "won independence for the country", and its leaders like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives.

"Has even your dog at home died for the country? Still, they (BJP) claim to be patriots and if we say something we are termed as deshdrohi (anti-nationals)."

Mr Kharge made the comments while countering the BJP's "Bharat Todo" jibe at the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Yatra.

The BJP today demanded his apology in Rajya Sabha, with Union Minister Piyush Goyal leading the charge. Amid the chaos, Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the comment was made outside parliament.

Mr Kharge scoffed at the apology demand and doubled down on his comments, prompting a heated exchange with Mr Goyal.