Sonia announces retirement as Cong chief, Amit Shah debuts in Rajya Sabha

The highlights of the first day of the winter session of Parliament, where neither of the two Houses could transact any business, were Congress President Sonia Gandhi announcing her retirement and the debut of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha.

With Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi set to officially take over the reins of the party on Saturday, Congress President Sonia Gandhi was asked by the media in Parliament about her future role. "My role is to retire," she said.

Her comments were interpreted to mean that Sonia Gandhi plans to retire from public life. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala requested the media "to not rely upon innuendos." "Sonia Gandhi has retired as president of the Indian National Congress and not from politics. Her blessings, wisdom and innate commitment to the Congress ideology shall always be our guiding light," Surjewala tweeted.

The Upper House proceedings were marked by frequent adjournments. The Congress members led other Opposition parties to demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise for his allegations against former prime minister Manmohan Singh. 

During election campaigning in Gujarat, Modi had alleged that Singh was part of a dinner meeting where Pakistani officials were present, and Pakistan was trying to influence the Gujarat polls. The leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said his party has given a notice under rule 267 seeking setting aside of the listed business to take up discussion on the "serious matter".

However, the issue threatens to mar the session. In the evening, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance held a meeting of its floor leaders. After the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the Congress should apologise over its leaders meeting Pakistani officials.

The other highlight of the day was the BJP chief's debut in the Rajya Sabha, where he occupied the front row seat that M Venkaiah Naidu had vacated. NDA members welcomed Shah by thumping their desks. While the Rajya Sabha couldn't transact any business, Vice-President and House Chairman Naidu employed his characteristic one-liners. Naidu said members should not use the phrase "I beg to" when laying papers on the table of the House. "Just say I rise to lay on the table," he said, adding there was "no need to beg…this is independent India."

In the morning, the PM urged all political parties to come together to ensure the winter session transacts important business. The government has lined up 25 pending and 14 new Bills, including a Bill on triple talaq. The Cabinet on Friday gave its nod to the Bill.

A joint committee of Parliament was to present its report on the controversial Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill on Friday. But the committee has now been asked to submit its report in the Budget session. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after obituary references.

The discussions among members focused on the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh exit polls. The Congress rubbished the exit polls on Gujarat, which have unanimously predicted a BJP win. However, the BJP leaders said the low voter turnout indicated the Congress failed to mobilise its supporters to come out to vote. 

Party strategists pointed at a drop of nearly eight percentage points in voter turnout in places like Bhavnagar, and said the BJP victory would be more than what the exit polls have predicted.

In a jolt to the Congress, the Supreme Court rejected the party's plea that the counting of at least 20 per cent of VVPAT (voter verified paper audit trail) slips manually, along with votes cast in EVMs (electronic voting machines) in each constituency.