Parliament Moment: Priyanka Gandhi shares tea with Rajnath Singh. PM Modi and Om Birla

At the end of the Winter Session on Friday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla held a meeting with leaders of the Lower House in his chamber at Parliament House, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also in attendance.

Amid the political churn of the session, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen seated next to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the meeting, sharing a cup of tea — a moment that stood out against an otherwise turbulent parliamentary sitting.

VIDEO | Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met PM Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Chirag Paswan, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and MPs of various parties, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and others, after the conclusion of the Parliament Winter Session 2025.

(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/Ljx8XPT4o9

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Soon after, amid continued Opposition protests over the passage of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the Lok Sabha sine die following the playing of Vande Mataram in the House. Prime Minister Modi, who returned a day earlier from a three-nation foreign visit, was present in the Lok Sabha at the time.

The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned sine die shortly after it resumed at 11 am. Before the adjournment, statements and reports were laid on the table of the House. While closing the proceedings, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan criticised the conduct of some Members during the previous day’s sitting. “The conduct of members during the Minister's reply yesterday, which included protesting and tearing of papers, was unbecoming of the House,” he said.

Opposition parties continued their protest against the VB-G RAM G Bill on Friday. A united Opposition staged a demonstration outside Parliament, while members of the Trinamool Congress carried on their protest on the steps at the entry to the House.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who is currently in Germany, also criticised the legislation, describing it as “anti-state” and “anti-village” by design. In a post on X, he wrote, “Last night, the Modi government demolished twenty years of MGNREGA in one day. VB-G RAM G isn't a 'revamp' of MGNREGA. It demolishes the rights-based, demand-driven guarantee and turns it into a rationed scheme which is controlled from Delhi. It is anti-state and anti-village by design.”

He said the earlier scheme empowered rural workers and strengthened rural livelihoods. “MGNREGA gave the rural worker bargaining power. With real options, exploitation and distress migration fell, wages increased, working conditions improved, all while building and reviving rural infrastructure. That leverage is precisely what this government wants to break. By capping work and building in more ways to deny it, VB-G RAM G weakens the one instrument which the rural poor had,” he added.

Highlighting the role of MGNREGA during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gandhi further said, “We saw what MGNREGA meant during COVID. When the economy shut down and livelihoods collapsed, it kept crores from falling into hunger and debt. And it helped women the most - year after year, women have contributed more than half the person-days.”