Prime Minister urges people to stay alert in view of Omicron variant: Key points

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the convening of the winter session of

Parliament

on Monday, Prime Minister Modi urged people to guard themselves against the new coronavirus variant - Omicron.


"We all should stay alert in view of the new variant of Covid-19," the prime minister said, adding that India is on its way to successfully administer 150 crore vaccine doses to its population.

Here is a look at the other important developments on Day 1.

Bill passed amidst heavy sloganeering by opposition

The Farm Laws Repeal Bill was passed in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha amid heavy sloganeering by the opposition.

The bill was passed minutes after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union agriculture minister

Narendra Singh

Tomar, following which the House was adjourned till 2pm.

Later, the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha and soon after the Speaker adjourned the House.

Sunrise in Parliament must be in name of farmers: Rahul

"Sunrise in Parliament must be in the name of farmers today," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ahead of the winter session of the Parliament.

"Today in Parliament sunrise should be in the name of the ‘annadata' (Aaj sansad mein annadata ke naam ka suraj ugana hai),” Rahul wrote on Twitter.



Congress MPs disrupt Parliament proceedings

Congress MPs led by party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Monday staged a protest in Parliament complex over the issue of farm laws.

Party leaders then marched towards Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the complex and raised slogans against the central government and the prime minister.

The Congress MPs held a banner saying, "We demand repeal of black farm laws".

Kharge calls meeting of opposition members
11 opposition parties attended the meeting called by Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to "create a consensus" over the issues to be raised in the winter session of the Parliament commencing today.

He had earlier said that "TMC agrees with the Congress party on a common issue of public importance.

However, leaders of the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party were not present. They had indicated that they would not attend the meet.

Among the parties whose leaders were present in the meeting included the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), IUML, Communist Party of India and CPI-M, RSP, Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD), National Conference (NC) and MDMK.

The winter session is scheduled to conclude on December 23
(With inputs from agencies)