Parliament winter session live: Rahul Gandhi says not allowed to meet Russian deputy PM

PArliament overwinter session unrecorded: Leader of oppositeness in Lok Sabha Rahul mrs. Gandhi alleged that he was denied get together with first deputy prime minister of Russia Denis Manturov who arrived at the parliament on Thursday ahead of President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to India.“It usually is a tradition that whoever visits from outside has a meeting with LoP. It used to happen during the governments of Vajpayee ji, Manmohan Singh ji. This has been a tradition. But these days, foreign dignitaries or when I visit abroad, Govt suggests them to not meet the LoP. This is their policy and they do it all the time,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.As rupee hit record low on Thursday, Opposition leaders slammed the Centre over the economic policies. The rupee weakened to 90.42, surpassing its previous all-time low of 90.29 hit on Wednesday. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the Centre's economic policies which he blamed for weakening the rupee. He said that the Indian currency has "no value" in the world."Rupee is weakening due to their policies. Had their policy been good, the Rupee's value would have gone up. This shows that our economic condition is not good. We can say whatever we want and appreciate ourselves, but this shows that our currency has no value in the world," Kharge was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.Opposition MPs on Thursday held a protest against the rising air pollution in Delhi and other parts of north India as winter session of the Parliament enters its fourth day. The Opposition also sought to hold a discussion in air pollution crisis that is being seen as the cause of several respiratory diseases, particularly among children and senior citizens.Congress MPs moved Adjournment Motion notices in the Lok Sabha to discuss the air crisis as they urged the Centre to declare pollution a national health emergency.The motion was moved by Manickam Tagore, Manish Tewari and Vijayakumar alias Vijay Vasanth. Several MPs of the Opposition arrived in the Parliament on day three of the winter session wearing gas masks as a mark of protests against the air pollution. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi had also said that issues such as air pollution need to be discussed in the Parliament.Tagore, in his notice to Lok Sabha Secretary General, said the government has failed to to chalk out a coordinated national strategy and “remains paralysed, issuing advisories instead of action, committees instead of solutions”.“Even as evidence mounts that pollution increases the risk of cancers, kidney disease, gastrointestinal disorders and metabolic illnesses like diabetes, this Government refuses to declare pollution a national health priority,” PTI quoted Tagore's notice as he demanded a "national clean air mission backed by law, strict liability for polluters, emergency health protocols for exposed populations, and coordinated scientific policymaking."Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to move the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha today, ANI reported.The Bill aims to augment resources for meeting expenditure on national security and public health, and to levy a cess for the said purposes on machines installed and other processes undertaken for the manufacture or production of specified goods.Union minister clarifies on Sanchar Saathi appOn Wednesday, union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia responded to Opposition's claims that state-owned cyber security app, Sanchar Saathi, is a breach of privacy. Scindia said that snooping is neither possible nor will happen with this app, which he said, was aimed to protect citizens from frauds.Scindia said the app order was being misconstrued and the government was willing to make changes to the order based on feedback. Later in the day, Centre announced it would be withdrawing the mandate for the pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi.In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Communications stated it has decided to recall its mandate due to the app's “increasing acceptance”.Parliament winter session 2025: A recap of Day 3The tug of war between government and the Opposition parties over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was also resolved after the government scheduled the debate on the issue for next week.The Opposition also protested against the four new labour codes as Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the government has snatched away the rights that workers and new avenues for their exploitation have been opened.Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met BJP MPs from West Bengal to review the poll preparations for next year's assembly polls there.Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury's dog row was abuzz again on Wednesday after she responded with a ‘woof woof’ when reporters asked her that the Rajya Sabha may initiate a privilege motion against her over her recent remarks involving dogs. The BJP reacted sharply to this saying that the Congress MPs were undermining the dignity of the Parliament.