Parliament Winter Session: Both Houses Likely To Heat Up As Debate On Constitution Begins Today — Top Updates

The two-day debate on the Constitution is expected to begin at 12 noon.

Representational Image of the Lok Sabha chamber.

Parliament Winter Session: The Lok Sabha on Friday is set to begin a two-day debate on the Constitution, marking the beginning of the 75th year of its adoption in the country. The two-day debate is expected to begin at 12 noon. Over 12 leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are expected to take part in the debate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reply to the two-day debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha on Saturday, sources told news agency PTI. The debate on the Constitution will be initiated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to initiate a similar debate in the Rajya Sabha, government sources told PTI.

Debate On Constitution: Here Are Top Updates

1. As per the listed agenda of the Lower House, there will be a "special discussion on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India."

2. Ahead of the two-day debate, the BJP and the Congress have issued a 'three-line whip' to ensure the presence of their members. The discussions are set to begin after the Question Hour, which is also listed in the agenda of the lower house.

3. Ahead of the debate, PM Modi held a strategy meeting, which was attended, among others, by Shah and Singh, besides BJP president J P Nadda.

4. Shah earlier held a meeting with senior BJP ministers, including Nadda, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, at his office in Parliament.

5. The opposition Congress also held a strategy meeting at the party headquarters in the national capital.

6. The meeting was attended by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, besides other senior leaders, including K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, to chalk out a plan for the strategy in Parliament for the upcoming week. The Winter Session of Parliament is likely to end on December 20.

7. While Rahul Gandhi was likely to start the discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha on behalf of the opposition as LoP, some leaders pointed to a change of strategy and said that Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may open the debate for the opposition camp, which would be her maiden speech in the Lok Sabha.

8. In the Rajya Sabha, Kharge will start the debate from the opposition side. The Rajya Sabha will hold the debate on December 16 and 17, and Prime Minister Modi is expected to reply to it on Tuesday in the upper house.

9. The debate on the Constitution has been the key demand of the opposition for the Winter Session of Parliament. According to the agreement with the Opposition, the BJP-led NDA government had agreed to a debate on the Constitution on December 13-14 in the Lok Sabha and on December 16-17 in the Rajya Sabha.

10. On November 26, 1949, the Indian Constituent Assembly formally adopted the Constitution, which came into effect on January 26, 1950, establishing India as a sovereign, democratic republic. In 2015, the Government of India formally declared November 26 as Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) to honour the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1949. Since then, the nation celebrates the Constitution's adoption each year on this day.

(With agencies inputs)