Parliament Budget Session Live Updates | Opposition Will Break BJP's 'Chakravyuh': Rahul Gandhi In Lok Sabha

Defence Minister Rajanth Singh on Monday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was misleading the nation on the sensitive issue of national security and the Agnipath initiative and added that he was ready to make a statement in this regard in Parliament.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha shortly after Gandhi's remarks on the Union budget, the defence minister said the opposition leader had tried to spread a lot of misconceptions about the budget and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would provide clarification when she replied to the debate. Singh said Gandhi was trying to mislead the nation about the sensitive issue of national security and the Agnipath initiative.

"Our jawans protect the country's borders, it is such a sensitive issue of our national security. There are attempts to mislead the nation on the Agniveer issue, I am ready to make a statement whenever you permit," Singh said. Gandhi said the defence minister had told the House that the family of an Agniveer martyr was paid compensation of Rs 1 crore but it was only insurance payment and not compensation. (PTI)

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday used the 'chakravyuh' metaphor as a leitmotif to say that an atmosphere of fear pervades the country and allege that the budget's sole aim was to strengthen the framework of monopoly capital, political monopoly and the deep state. Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Union Budget of 2024-25, Gandhi claimed the fear is spreading through a 'chakravyuh' with everybody trapped in it, including BJP MPs, farmers and workers.

"Thousands of years ago in Haryana, in Kurukshetra, six people killed a youth, Abhimanyu, in a 'chakravyuh'. A 'chakravyuh' has violence and fear. Abhimanyu was trapped and killed in the 'chakravyuh'," he said. Gandhi's reference was to the Mahabharat legend according to which Abhimanyu was killed in a 'chakravyuh' -- a multi-tiered maze and formation -- in which he was trapped. He said the 'chakravyuh' is also called a 'Padmavyuha' which is a multi-tiered formation that looks like a lotus (the BJP symbol). "You build a 'chakravyuh', and we break the 'chakravyuh'," Gandhi said, asserting that the opposition would break this cycle by carrying out a caste census.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Rajya Sabha speaks on the incident of death of 3 UPSC aspirants in Delhi "...There was negligence. Only when accountability is fixed, there will be a solution...It is our responsibility to ensure that such an incident is not repeated...."

In Lok Sabha, LoP Rahul Gandhi shows a poster of the traditional Halwa ceremony, held at the Ministry of Finance before the Budget session. He says, "Budget ka halwa' is being distributed in this photo. I can't see one OBC or tribal or a Dalit officer in this. Desh ka halwa bant raha hai aur 73% hai hi nahi. 20 officers prepared the Budget of India...Hindustan ka halwa 20 logon ne baatne ka kaam kiya hai..."

Rahul Gandhi speaks on Budget In Lok Sabha: "During Covid, you helped large businesses, and destroyed smaller ones, because of this youth are not getting employment.... Finance minister is here, what did you do about youth... You included an internship programme in Budget in 500 large companies....99% of the youth would not benefit from this...you broke a leg and now are trying to put a band on it. Main issue of youth is paper leak... Wherever I go, youth say on one side is paper leak and on the other is unemployment.... Paper leaks happened 70 times in 10 years... Finance minister did not say a word about the paper leak... She did not say a word. On the contrary, the education budget was reduced to 2.5% of the total budget. For the first time, you trapped soldiers in Agniveer chakravyuh. This budget doesn't talk about Agniveer pension. Farmers, who wanted to get out of chakravyuh, sought legally guaranteed MSP... you stopped them at borders. They came here to meet me, you did not allow them..."

Speaking on Budget 2024-25, LoP Rahul Gandhi talks about Chakravyuh (a circular trap) that has trapped India. He says there are three forces behind this chakravyuh. "First is the idea of monopoly capital. That two people should be allowed to own the entire Indian wealth. One element of the chakravyuh is coming from the concentration of power. Second is the institutions, the agencies, CBI, ED, Income Tax Department, and the third is the political executive. These three together are at the heart of the chakravyuh. They have devastated the country.

My expectation from the Budget was that it would weaken the power of this chakravyuh. That this budget will help the farmers of this country, the youth, the labourers, the small businesses. (However) the sole aim of this budget is to strengthen this framework of monopoly business, the framework of political monopoly and finally the monopoly of deep state or agencies.

The first thing that this chakravyuh did was that it attacked the small businesses that used to give employment to crores of our youth. This chakravyuh attacked the small businesses through tax terrorism...The budget did nothing to stop this tax terrorism..."

Speaking on the Budget 2024-25, LoP Rahul Gandhi says: "Thousands of years ago, Abhimanyu was killed by 6 people in Chakravyuh. Another name of Chakravyuh is Padmavyuh, which is in the shape of a lotus flower. There is fear and violence inside it. Another Chakravyuh has been prepared in the 21st century. What happened with Abhimanyu is being done with India. Abhimanyu was killed by 6 people in the Chakravyuh. Even today, there are 6 people in the middle of the Chakravyuh. These 6 people are Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat, Ajit Doval, Adani and Ambani." After Speaker Om Birla's intervention, Rahul says, "...If you want, I will omit the names of NSA, Ambani and Adani, and take just 3 names."

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi talks about Budget 2024-25. He says there is an atmosphere of fear in the country..."My friends are smiling. But they also fear. In the BJP, only one man is allowed to dream to be the prime minister...Why is that my friends in the BJP are terrified, the farmers of India are terrified," says Rahul Gandhi.

Rajya Sabha Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar allows Short Duration Discussion under Rule 176 on death of three IAS Aspirants in Delhi. "The issue concerns our promising youth.... urban infrastructure as well as other aspects of governance... Under these circumstances, I deem it proper to allow for a Short Duration Discussion under Rule 176 immediately after the Question Hour. These discussions may normally be confined to two and half hours," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav demands in the Rajya Sabha that the government revert to the traditional subject-based question paper format for UPSC examinations. Yadav speaking during the Zero Hour in the Upper House says it is a "serious issue" and argues that the purpose of education is the overall development of an individual. "The competitive exams have abandoned the previous pattern," says Yadav, suggesting that the current objective question format has led to increased instances of cheating and paper leaks. He emphasizes that subjective questions were crucial for assessing an individual's reasoning abilities. The SP leader expresses concern over the quality of selected candidates, stating, "As a result, such candidates after selection cannot even draft a letter correctly."

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar defers the decision on allowing a discussion regarding the deaths of UPSC aspirants at a Delhi coaching centre, citing lack of agreement between the ruling party and the opposition. Several members, including Sudhanshu Trivedi, Ram Chandra Jangra, Surendra Singh Nagar from BJP, Swati Maliwal from AAP and John Brittas from CPI (M) had sought a discussion under Rule 267, which allows for suspension of the day's business to debate urgent matters. However, Dhankhar noted that the opposition Congress had not agreed to this. "The main Opposition do not favour Rule 267. This was conveyed to me by (Congress leader) Jairam Ramesh in categorical terms," Dhankhar says.

The chairman acknowledged the importance of the issue, stating, "Youth demographic dividend of the country has to be nurtured." He expresses concern over the commercialisation of coaching. Dhankhar proposes considering a short-duration discussion or calling attention motion under Rules 176 or 180, saying he would consult party leaders after Zero Hour. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju supports an urgent discussion "under whichever rule." Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge calls for discussion on Manipur and NEET issues as well, which the Chair says were not before him at present.

In Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri discusses prices of petrol and diesel in India while replying to relevant questions asked by several MPs. "In the last two years, in 2021-22 when there was an economic lockdown, the price of crude came down to $19.06 cents now it has gone to 102 dollars," he says.

Puri compares petrol and diesel prices in India and other neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Prices of petrol and diesel in our immediate neighbourhood are significantly different from India.

Reference period Nov. 2021, when PM Modi reduced the cess. In the three years, the price of petrol in India came down by Rs 13.62, in Diesel it came down by Rs 10.97. In Pakistan, the price had gone up by 44.98% in petrol and 43.65% in diesel," he says.

"We have ensured the availability, affordability, and sustainability in the last 10 years. We can draw some satisfaction as we have been able to negotiate global uncertainty," he says.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says he met the uncle of the youth from Kerala who was one of three UPSC aspirants who died due to drowning in a coaching centre in Delhi on Sunday. Tharoor says a brilliant student's and family's dreams have been shattered, and demands compensation for the kin of the deceases students.

He also highlights the rampant violation of basic norms, fire safety, and construction rules in the city. "The most important issue is to prevent such tragedies in the future. A comprehensive inquiry should be undertaken," says Tharoor.

Samajwadi Chief Akhilesh Yadav also highlights the matter and says it is a serious issue. "How were building NOCs issued...action should be taken...this is not just a matter of illegal building," he says.

BJP Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj highlights the death of three IAS aspirants in a Delhi coaching centre. She accuses AAP government of criminal negligence, saying the cause of death of the three students is the utter and absolute apathy of the ruling government.

"For 2 years, MCD and Delhi Jal Board is with Delhi government, but they have not carried out the cleaning of drains, they have not done up-gradation or de-siltation," she claims. Swaraj says on July 22 and 24, locals in Rajinder Nagar, where the incident took place, had complained of the issue to the counsellors and officials. Swaraj seeks setting up of an inquiry committee by Home Ministry to probe the incident.

Sougata Rai, AITC MP in Lok Sabha representing Dum Dum constituency, flags lack of access to high quality education in India, and thereby students leaving the country in droves to pursue education and careers in other countries.

"Is the government of India doing anything to stop foreign universities from setting up centres here to take away our students. British, Australian universities are doing this. What are you doing to stop them," Rai asks.

"In 2023, 8.94 lakh students went abroad for studies. Is it a matter of pride for us? This brain drain," he adds. Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in reply says this is one way of seeing it, as "we want the India to progress on global stage". "Don't undermine Indian students. Language, innovation, medicine, in every sector Indians are doing great. Successful Indians are thriving everywhere. Entire globe in shrinking to a village. How can we deprive our students of the good standard of education," says Pradhan.

Congress MP also flags lack of access to high quality institutions in India. He cites research that says there is relative lack of academic freedom in the country.

Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi gives a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha over alleged rampant corruption in infrastructure projects in Maharashtra.

Defence Minister Rajanth Singh on Monday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was misleading the nation on the sensitive issue of national security and the Agnipath initiative and added that he was ready to make a statement in this regard in Parliament.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha shortly after Gandhi's remarks on the Union budget, the defence minister said the opposition leader had tried to spread a lot of misconceptions about the budget and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would provide clarification when she replied to the debate. Singh said Gandhi was trying to mislead the nation about the sensitive issue of national security and the Agnipath initiative.

"Our jawans protect the country's borders, it is such a sensitive issue of our national security. There are attempts to mislead the nation on the Agniveer issue, I am ready to make a statement whenever you permit," Singh said. Gandhi said the defence minister had told the House that the family of an Agniveer martyr was paid compensation of Rs 1 crore but it was only insurance payment and not compensation. (PTI)

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday used the 'chakravyuh' metaphor as a leitmotif to say that an atmosphere of fear pervades the country and allege that the budget's sole aim was to strengthen the framework of monopoly capital, political monopoly and the deep state. Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Union Budget of 2024-25, Gandhi claimed the fear is spreading through a 'chakravyuh' with everybody trapped in it, including BJP MPs, farmers and workers.

"Thousands of years ago in Haryana, in Kurukshetra, six people killed a youth, Abhimanyu, in a 'chakravyuh'. A 'chakravyuh' has violence and fear. Abhimanyu was trapped and killed in the 'chakravyuh'," he said. Gandhi's reference was to the Mahabharat legend according to which Abhimanyu was killed in a 'chakravyuh' -- a multi-tiered maze and formation -- in which he was trapped. He said the 'chakravyuh' is also called a 'Padmavyuha' which is a multi-tiered formation that looks like a lotus (the BJP symbol). "You build a 'chakravyuh', and we break the 'chakravyuh'," Gandhi said, asserting that the opposition would break this cycle by carrying out a caste census.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Rajya Sabha speaks on the incident of death of 3 UPSC aspirants in Delhi "...There was negligence. Only when accountability is fixed, there will be a solution...It is our responsibility to ensure that such an incident is not repeated...."

In Lok Sabha, LoP Rahul Gandhi shows a poster of the traditional Halwa ceremony, held at the Ministry of Finance before the Budget session. He says, "Budget ka halwa' is being distributed in this photo. I can't see one OBC or tribal or a Dalit officer in this. Desh ka halwa bant raha hai aur 73% hai hi nahi. 20 officers prepared the Budget of India...Hindustan ka halwa 20 logon ne baatne ka kaam kiya hai..."

Rahul Gandhi speaks on Budget In Lok Sabha: "During Covid, you helped large businesses, and destroyed smaller ones, because of this youth are not getting employment.... Finance minister is here, what did you do about youth... You included an internship programme in Budget in 500 large companies....99% of the youth would not benefit from this...you broke a leg and now are trying to put a band on it. Main issue of youth is paper leak... Wherever I go, youth say on one side is paper leak and on the other is unemployment.... Paper leaks happened 70 times in 10 years... Finance minister did not say a word about the paper leak... She did not say a word. On the contrary, the education budget was reduced to 2.5% of the total budget. For the first time, you trapped soldiers in Agniveer chakravyuh. This budget doesn't talk about Agniveer pension. Farmers, who wanted to get out of chakravyuh, sought legally guaranteed MSP... you stopped them at borders. They came here to meet me, you did not allow them..."

Speaking on Budget 2024-25, LoP Rahul Gandhi talks about Chakravyuh (a circular trap) that has trapped India. He says there are three forces behind this chakravyuh. "First is the idea of monopoly capital. That two people should be allowed to own the entire Indian wealth. One element of the chakravyuh is coming from the concentration of power. Second is the institutions, the agencies, CBI, ED, Income Tax Department, and the third is the political executive. These three together are at the heart of the chakravyuh. They have devastated the country.

My expectation from the Budget was that it would weaken the power of this chakravyuh. That this budget will help the farmers of this country, the youth, the labourers, the small businesses. (However) the sole aim of this budget is to strengthen this framework of monopoly business, the framework of political monopoly and finally the monopoly of deep state or agencies.

The first thing that this chakravyuh did was that it attacked the small businesses that used to give employment to crores of our youth. This chakravyuh attacked the small businesses through tax terrorism...The budget did nothing to stop this tax terrorism..."

Speaking on the Budget 2024-25, LoP Rahul Gandhi says: "Thousands of years ago, Abhimanyu was killed by 6 people in Chakravyuh. Another name of Chakravyuh is Padmavyuh, which is in the shape of a lotus flower. There is fear and violence inside it. Another Chakravyuh has been prepared in the 21st century. What happened with Abhimanyu is being done with India. Abhimanyu was killed by 6 people in the Chakravyuh. Even today, there are 6 people in the middle of the Chakravyuh. These 6 people are Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat, Ajit Doval, Adani and Ambani." After Speaker Om Birla's intervention, Rahul says, "...If you want, I will omit the names of NSA, Ambani and Adani, and take just 3 names."

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi talks about Budget 2024-25. He says there is an atmosphere of fear in the country..."My friends are smiling. But they also fear. In the BJP, only one man is allowed to dream to be the prime minister...Why is that my friends in the BJP are terrified, the farmers of India are terrified," says Rahul Gandhi.

Rajya Sabha Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar allows Short Duration Discussion under Rule 176 on death of three IAS Aspirants in Delhi. "The issue concerns our promising youth.... urban infrastructure as well as other aspects of governance... Under these circumstances, I deem it proper to allow for a Short Duration Discussion under Rule 176 immediately after the Question Hour. These discussions may normally be confined to two and half hours," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav demands in the Rajya Sabha that the government revert to the traditional subject-based question paper format for UPSC examinations. Yadav speaking during the Zero Hour in the Upper House says it is a "serious issue" and argues that the purpose of education is the overall development of an individual. "The competitive exams have abandoned the previous pattern," says Yadav, suggesting that the current objective question format has led to increased instances of cheating and paper leaks. He emphasizes that subjective questions were crucial for assessing an individual's reasoning abilities. The SP leader expresses concern over the quality of selected candidates, stating, "As a result, such candidates after selection cannot even draft a letter correctly."

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar defers the decision on allowing a discussion regarding the deaths of UPSC aspirants at a Delhi coaching centre, citing lack of agreement between the ruling party and the opposition. Several members, including Sudhanshu Trivedi, Ram Chandra Jangra, Surendra Singh Nagar from BJP, Swati Maliwal from AAP and John Brittas from CPI (M) had sought a discussion under Rule 267, which allows for suspension of the day's business to debate urgent matters. However, Dhankhar noted that the opposition Congress had not agreed to this. "The main Opposition do not favour Rule 267. This was conveyed to me by (Congress leader) Jairam Ramesh in categorical terms," Dhankhar says.

The chairman acknowledged the importance of the issue, stating, "Youth demographic dividend of the country has to be nurtured." He expresses concern over the commercialisation of coaching. Dhankhar proposes considering a short-duration discussion or calling attention motion under Rules 176 or 180, saying he would consult party leaders after Zero Hour. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju supports an urgent discussion "under whichever rule." Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge calls for discussion on Manipur and NEET issues as well, which the Chair says were not before him at present.

In Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri discusses prices of petrol and diesel in India while replying to relevant questions asked by several MPs. "In the last two years, in 2021-22 when there was an economic lockdown, the price of crude came down to $19.06 cents now it has gone to 102 dollars," he says.

Puri compares petrol and diesel prices in India and other neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Prices of petrol and diesel in our immediate neighbourhood are significantly different from India.

Reference period Nov. 2021, when PM Modi reduced the cess. In the three years, the price of petrol in India came down by Rs 13.62, in Diesel it came down by Rs 10.97. In Pakistan, the price had gone up by 44.98% in petrol and 43.65% in diesel," he says.

"We have ensured the availability, affordability, and sustainability in the last 10 years. We can draw some satisfaction as we have been able to negotiate global uncertainty," he says.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says he met the uncle of the youth from Kerala who was one of three UPSC aspirants who died due to drowning in a coaching centre in Delhi on Sunday. Tharoor says a brilliant student's and family's dreams have been shattered, and demands compensation for the kin of the deceases students.

He also highlights the rampant violation of basic norms, fire safety, and construction rules in the city. "The most important issue is to prevent such tragedies in the future. A comprehensive inquiry should be undertaken," says Tharoor.

Samajwadi Chief Akhilesh Yadav also highlights the matter and says it is a serious issue. "How were building NOCs issued...action should be taken...this is not just a matter of illegal building," he says.

BJP Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj highlights the death of three IAS aspirants in a Delhi coaching centre. She accuses AAP government of criminal negligence, saying the cause of death of the three students is the utter and absolute apathy of the ruling government.

"For 2 years, MCD and Delhi Jal Board is with Delhi government, but they have not carried out the cleaning of drains, they have not done up-gradation or de-siltation," she claims. Swaraj says on July 22 and 24, locals in Rajinder Nagar, where the incident took place, had complained of the issue to the counsellors and officials. Swaraj seeks setting up of an inquiry committee by Home Ministry to probe the incident.

Sougata Rai, AITC MP in Lok Sabha representing Dum Dum constituency, flags lack of access to high quality education in India, and thereby students leaving the country in droves to pursue education and careers in other countries.

"Is the government of India doing anything to stop foreign universities from setting up centres here to take away our students. British, Australian universities are doing this. What are you doing to stop them," Rai asks.

"In 2023, 8.94 lakh students went abroad for studies. Is it a matter of pride for us? This brain drain," he adds. Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in reply says this is one way of seeing it, as "we want the India to progress on global stage". "Don't undermine Indian students. Language, innovation, medicine, in every sector Indians are doing great. Successful Indians are thriving everywhere. Entire globe in shrinking to a village. How can we deprive our students of the good standard of education," says Pradhan.

Congress MP also flags lack of access to high quality institutions in India. He cites research that says there is relative lack of academic freedom in the country.

Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi gives a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha over alleged rampant corruption in infrastructure projects in Maharashtra.