Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open the debate in the Lok Sabha on Monday, December 8, 2025, as Parliament begins discussions on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Vande Mataram. The Congress has chosen its Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to speak during the debate.
The Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi will speak on electoral reforms on Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
Two separate debates on the national song will take place in both Houses of Parliament next week. The Rajya Sabha will start its debate on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. The Lok Sabha has already listed the discussion on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Vande Mataram for Monday and has set aside ten hours for it.
The year long celebration marks one hundred and fifty years since Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote Vande Mataram. The tune was created by Jadunath Bhattacharya. Prime Minister Modi launched the celebrations on November 7 and said the aim was to help young people understand the importance of the song. He also criticised the Congress and said the party removed important stanzas from the song in 1937 and created the atmosphere that later led to the Partition.
Congress leaders have pushed back strongly and have accused the Prime Minister of creating unnecessary controversy over Vande Mataram.
In the Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will open the debate on Tuesday and Union Health Minister and Leader of the House J P Nadda will speak after him.
Apart from the debates on the national song, Parliament will also discuss election reforms. The Lok Sabha will take up this debate on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 9 and 10. The Rajya Sabha will discuss the same issue on Wednesday and Thursday, December 10 and 11. The debate will include all major concerns, including the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The Opposition has been asking for a debate on election reforms since the Monsoon Session. The government did not agree at the time, arguing that the Election Commission is a Constitutional body and its functioning should not be debated in Parliament. The Opposition pointed to several earlier cases where electoral reforms were discussed in the House.
The demand has continued in the Winter Session as well. The first two days of the session, which started on December 1, were disrupted because the Opposition protested against the Special Intensive Revision, leading to repeated adjournments.
