Parliament budget session live: 30 Bihar MPs from JD(U) and other NDA allies meet PM Narendra Modi in Parliament

BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan slammed Congress after Prime Minister Naredra Modi's reply to Motion of Thanks in Rajya Sabha.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi practices progressive politics of inclusive development, but Congress harbours regressive politics of dynastic development... PM Narendra Modi has ushered in a women-centric, women-led development model, which has made our country the fastest-growing and 5th largest economy in the world... The pernicious permit-license quota of the Nehru-Indira Gandhi days stifled individual enterprise, choked freedom, and fostered a culture of corruption. Does Khargeji agree that Indira Gandhi was grievously wrong in amending the preamble of the Constitution to add the word 'socialist'?... The Congress party, for their politics of religious appeasement, has tried to snatch away the rights of our SC, ST, and OBC communities as guaranteed by the Constitution, but Narendra Modi has empowered them... Stand Up India has made SC, ST women entrepreneurs, and even the recent budget has provided collateral-free ₹2 crore loans to 5,00,000 first-time SC, ST entrepreneurs—this is revolutionary. The youth were completely lost and directionless during the Congress party's time. Now the Mudra Loan Scheme has made 8 crore youth first-time entrepreneurs... With a proven track record, the Prime Minister has earned the faith of the farmers, the trust of the poor, the aspirations of our women, and the dreams of our youth,” he said.

Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned till 2 pm.

Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that the opposition has found many irregularities in the Maharashtra assembly election held last year.

"We represent on this table - the entire opposition that fought the last election in Maharashtra. We are going to bring some information about the election. We studied the details - the voters and the voting list. Our teams have been working, and we have found many irregularities," he said in a press conference.

Lok Saba is now holding a general discussion on the Union budget 2025.

BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad and SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav shared a light-hearted conversation at the Parliament

Question hour has ended in Lok Saba as opposition uproar begins. The question hour proceedings have begun in Rajya Sabha.

Around 30 Bihar MPs from BJP, JD(U), and NDA allies met PM Narendra Modi in Parliament today and felicitated him for the Budget announcements for their state.

NCP-SCP Spokesperson Clyde Crasto slammed PM Narendra Modi's speech in Rajya Sabha, saying the BJP has no right to comment on dynastic politics.

“BJP does not have the right to speak about dynastic politics... because they themselves are deeply rooted in dynastic politics,” he said

DMK MP Kanimozhi raised the issue of Tamil fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka, demanding their release.

“The Sri Lankan Navy has been arresting and harassing Tamil Nadu fishermen. Now, nearly 97 Tamil Nadu fishermen have been arrested. Our CM MK Stalin has written to the Minister and the PM. Every time he is here, he insists to the PM to find a solution for this problem. They have taken away nearly 210 boats of our fishermen. It is their livelihood that is getting affected. What can the fishermen do without their boats?... This is becoming a big issue in Tamil Nadu, especially for the fishermen because their entire livelihood, family, and everything is affected. The union government which has promised to have deliberations between the fishermen's groups and also have committees formed to resolve this issue permanently, has not done anything about it so far. Our demand is that the fishermen who have been arrested have to be released. They have to put pressure to release them. Justice has to be done. Boats that have been captured, we want that to be released. Our CM insists on a permanent solution to this problem. We want the Union Govt to speak to the Sri Lankan Govt & find a permanent solution for this,” she told ANI.

Opposition MPs protest on Parliament premises, demanding to bring back Indian fishermen caught by Sri Lankan forces.

SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav called EAM S Jaishankar's statement on deportees from US ‘worst’ in his parliament history.

“I have never heard a worse statement than this from any Minister in my Parliamentary history. To say that deportation from the US is not new... Our people who have been sent back are being treated like criminals here... They are still in detention in a way. They are being questioned,” he said.

Proceedings for the day began in both houses of the parliament.

A special press conference by Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, party leader Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut will be held at 12.30 PM, today in Delhi, ANI reported.