Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned till tomorrow.

Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandviya moves The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing.  

High personal income tax collection does not necessarily mean that the middle class is being suppressed or crushed in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said in the Rajya Sabha.

he Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Thursday following uproar by the opposition over BJP member Nishikant Dubey's remarks targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Dubey alleged that Gandhi was hand-in-glove with anti-national forces.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responds to budget discussion on Rajya Sabha.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has filed a notice to introduce a motion to terminate Rahul Gandhi's membership. He alleged that the Congress MP made baseless allegations without any facts, referring to Gandhi's speech on Wednesday.

The BJP has also demanded in its notice that Gandhi be barred from contesting elections for life.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said there is no plan to move a privilege motion against Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

"I have submitted a substantive motion wherein I have mentioned how he allegedly engages with the Soros Foundation, Ford Foundation, USAID and travels to places like Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the US, and how he is linked with anti-India forces. I have demanded that his membership be cancelled and that he be barred from contesting elections for life," he told PTI.

The Lok Sabha saw protests, with the Opposition chanting slogans and displaying placards towards the Speaker's chair.

The House was adjourned within seven minutes of convening.

The BJP is likely to move a privilege motion against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, sources claimed, a day after the Congress MP's speech that took a swipe at the India-US trade deal and the Union Budget.

"The 16th Finance Commission analysed the state's share transferred by the Centre to the states from 2018 to 2023 and concluded that in each of these years, the devolution made by the Centre exactly matches the recommendation of the Finance Commission," said Nirmala Sitharaman.

"Although I said capital expenditure is Rs 12.2 lakh crore. The effective capital expenditure, which includes grants that I given to the states as well is Rs 17.1 lakh crore, which is 4.4% of the GDP, which goes only to build India in the states and everywhere else. Union territories and so on. So states and union territory put together for the capital expenditure is at Rs 17.1 lakh crore is being given effectively," said Nirmala Sitharaman.

"I'll take the example of building champions out of MSMEs, particularly the medium sized units which do not want to grow out of the MSME category, even though they have the capacity, even though they have every strength, but even in the last budget we expanded the definition of MSME so that even if they go beyond a certain level in their turnover, they'd still be defined as MSME. They don't lose out on their benefits, but this budget we've taken that a bit further," said Nirmala Sitharaman.

"We are considering our push in building infrastructure, not just roads, but highways, waterways, so that cost of logistics can come down," said Nirmala Sitharaman replying to discussion on Budget in Rajya Sabha

Epstein, who had ties to top business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics, was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking minor girls.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking underage girls to the financier and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. The US Justice Department has said no new prosecutions are expected but a number of political and business leaders have already been tarnished by scandal or resigned after their ties with Epstein were revealed in the files.

Last month the US Department of Justice released a vast new tranche of records from its files on Epstein, resuming disclosures under a law designed to shed light on what the government knew about his sexual abuse of young girls and interactions with wealthy and influential figures.

Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche said more than three million pages of documents were being released in the latest disclosure, alongside more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

The files, published on the department's website, include material that officials said had been withheld from an initial release in December.

The disclosures are mandated under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, enacted after months of political and public pressure. The law requires the government to open its files relating not only to Epstein but also to his longtime associate and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Union Minister Hardeep Puri hit back at Rahul Gandhi Wednesday over mention of his name in the Epstein Files, clarifying he only met the late and disgraced American financier "on a few occasions (and) as part of a delegation" and only exchanged one email with him.

"Innuendo and smear campaign," says Minister Hardeep Puri on his mention in Epstein files

"We have a youth leader who placed a few things before the Parliament today. He has a habit of making baseless allegations. There are two kinds of leaders: those who assume responsibility in the political system and dedicate their lives to social service, transforming the country, and those who devote their lives and ensure that, during their lifetime, the country moves from the 10th-largest economy to the 3rd-largest. And then there are other leaders who occasionally come to the country, and when they come to the Parliament, they walk out of the House when someone gives them a substantive reply and doesn't listen to them. He left after his own speech today...," said Hardeep Puri.

"There are just 3-4 references out of 3 million emails," said Minister Hardeep Puri on his mention in Epstein Files.

Rahul Gandhi's stunts have "elements of buffoonery", said Minister Hardeep Puri, clarifying he is not calling the Congress leader a buffoon but his antics.  

Responding to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha speech, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said Narendra Modi is the strongest prime minister India has seen.

"Congress weakened the country till 2014, it now unhappy with India's progress," he said.

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the government of selling 'Bharat Mata' and dubbed the India-US interim trade agreement as one-sided which has hurt the interests of the farmers.

He said, "You have sold India. Are you not ashamed of selling India? You have sold our mother, Bharat Mata," he said while referring to the trade agreement.

He said the interests of the farmers have been compromised as agricultural products from the US will flood Indian markets. He also alleged that the Indian textile industry is "finished".

Our energy security has been handed over to US under trade deal; this is a wholesale surrender: Rahul Gandhi. 

PM Modi 'surrendered' future of Indians because he wanted to protect BJP's financial architecture, alleges Rahul Gandhi. 

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that if the Opposition's INDIA bloc was negotiating with US President Donald Trump on the trade deal, they would emphasise the importance of Indian data.

"Talk to us like equals, not like we are your servants. Please understand that our energy security is ours, we are going to protect it. We understand you have an agricultural voter base, that you need to protect farmers, but we will also protect our farmers. We will not be made equal to Pakistan," he said, in reference to the US.

The three essential things in turbulent times, Rahul Gandhi said, are people and data, food supply, and energy.

The Union Budget recognises these things, but says nothing about energy and finance weaponisation, he said.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi warned that as the world moves into the era of artificial intelligence, there are going to be consequences, like the threat posed to India's information technology sector and software engineers.

This, he went on to say, will create a turbulent dangerous world, where it will be imperative to understand the strengths of the nation. "Our strength is our 1.4 billion brilliant, energetic, dynamic people who can challenge anybody in the world. In the 21st century, people create data, so we have the biggest data pool on the planet. Data is wealth and talking about AI without talking about data is like talking about an engine without talking about petrol. The two biggest pools of data on the planet are Indian and Chinese. We allow more freedom," he said. 

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that two profound points he noted in the Economic Survey, tabled on January 29, include the mention of geopolitical conflict, challenge to dollar and the mention of an end of the era of war.

"The old system, dollar-based, US-based system, unipolar system is being challenged. US dominance is being challenged by the Chinese, Russians, other forces," he said, citing the Economic Survey.

He added that another point he noted focussed on energy and finance weaponisation and the move from a world of stability to instability. "PM Modi and NSA (Ajit Doval) stated that the era of war is over. In fact, we are moving into an era of war. Ukraine, Gaza, Operation Sindoor....we are moving into world of instability," he added.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said the foundation of martial arts is the grip on the opponent. "That grip can be seen by the opponent in martial arts, but not in poltiics," he said.

Opposition parties on Tuesday put in motion the process to oust Om Birla as Lok Sabha speaker, alleging that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner in the House and prompting him to step aside from chairing the proceedings till the matter is settled. Opposition leaders said the notice to move the no-confidence motion was signed by at least 118 MPs, including those of the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Left parties and the RJD.

Opposition MPs staged protests in both Houses over the India-US trade deal. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the framework of the deal "appears far less like a free trade agreement and far more like a pre-committed purchase that overturns the very idea of reciprocity".

A political controversy erupted after Rahul Gandhi sought to quote excerpts from Naravane's memoir Four Stars of Destiny in Parliament during his speech in Lok Sabha last week. He cited a 2023 social media post by General Naravane to support his claim that the book was available for purchase. The Speaker Om Birla passed a ruling, asking Gandhi not to quote unpublished literature.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address the House at 12 pm, amid days of protest by the Opposition over not letting him speak after he mentioned former Army Chief General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir.