On December 19, 2025, as the final day of India’s Winter Session of Parliament drew to a close, the air in New Delhi was thick with tension and frustration. Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, speaking at a press conference, delivered a stark warning: Parliament’s relevance, he argued, is slipping away, and with it, the very foundation of Indian democracy is being put at risk. His words, echoed across multiple news outlets including ANI and Devdiscourse, painted a picture of an institution at a crossroads—one where real issues are left on the sidelines, replaced by debates that, in his view, are out of step with the nation’s pressing concerns.
“I feel the relevance of our Parliament is gradually declining. There are fewer sittings now... This is extremely dangerous for democracy, because the real issues are not discussed. Instead, such topics are raised that are irrelevant to the present day... It seems that the people sitting in power don’t care much about the Parliament...” Sibal told reporters, as quoted by ANI. His comments came on the heels of a session marked by heated exchanges, protests, and the passage of several controversial bills.
For Sibal, the evidence of Parliament’s waning significance is found in the numbers. The Winter Session, which ran from December 1 to December 19, consisted of only 15 sittings. “When we were in Parliament earlier, the Winter Session used to start on November 20. In 2017, there were 13 sittings, in 2022, there were 13 sittings, in 2023, there were 14 sittings. If this continues, debates that should happen will not take place,” he said, according to Devdiscourse. His point was clear: fewer sittings mean fewer opportunities to address the nation’s most urgent problems.
The session’s final day was emblematic of the broader issues Sibal raised. The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die by Speaker Om Birla after the national song, Vande Mataram, was played in the House. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fresh from a three-nation visit, was present. In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman and Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan also adjourned proceedings shortly after they resumed at 11 am. Before the adjournment, statements and reports were laid on the table, but the mood was somber, reflecting the turbulence of previous days.
Chairman Radhakrishnan, in his closing remarks, addressed the conduct of members during the Minister’s reply the day before. “The conduct of members during the Minister’s reply yesterday, which included protesting and tearing of papers, was unbecoming of the House, and expresses the wish that they reflect on their behaviour,” he said, as reported by ANI. Yet, he also tried to strike a hopeful note, calling the session “very productive” and expressing the hope for more fruitful discussions in the future.
But for Sibal and other members of the Opposition, the session’s productivity was overshadowed by what they saw as a deliberate avoidance of substantive debate. One flashpoint was the Opposition’s request for a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls—a topic Sibal described as “the biggest issue in the country today.” According to him, “If the electoral roll is polluted, how will we breathe in a democracy? So, SIR should be discussed. But they said we can’t discuss it as it is in court, but even Bofors was in court but it was discussed in Parliament. But they are using it as an excuse because they don’t want the actions the Election Commission takes at their behest to be revealed to the public.”
Instead of focusing on SIR or other electoral reforms, Sibal claimed, the government opted to prioritize debates on topics like Vande Mataram. “How is the ‘Vande Mataram’ issue relevant today? Does the RSS sing ‘Vande Mataram’? Does BJP start its meetings with ‘Vande Mataram’? They also used to not believe in the national anthem. Those people who sided with the British in 1942 talk of Vande Mataram today,” he said, questioning the motivations behind the government’s legislative agenda.
Sibal’s criticisms extended to the legislative output of the session as well. He took aim at the passage of several major bills, including those on nuclear energy, foreign direct investment (FDI), and the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). According to ANI and Devdiscourse, the Lok Sabha passed the G RAM G Bill, which assures 125 days of guaranteed jobs for rural India, amid opposition protests that included members tearing up papers on December 18. The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, opening the civil nuclear sector to private participation, also cleared the House. Notably, the Lok Sabha approved a bill to raise FDI in the insurance sector to 100 percent, up from the previous 74 percent—a move expected to increase insurance penetration and job creation, but not without controversy.
The Rajya Sabha, for its part, worked into the early hours to pass the legislation replacing MGNREGA, a program that for two decades had provided a safety net for millions of rural Indians. The flurry of legislative activity, Sibal argued, was less about genuine reform and more about consolidating power. He alleged that the government’s true objective was to “topple state governments and when they have all states under their control, they want to change the constitution to ensure—‘One nation, one election; one nation, one language and one nation, one party.’”
Such claims, of course, are hotly contested by the ruling party and its supporters, who point to the passage of crucial bills as evidence of a government getting things done. For them, the session’s legislative achievements—modernizing the insurance sector, opening up new avenues for private investment in nuclear energy, and streamlining rural employment guarantees—represent progress and a commitment to reform. They argue that opposition protests and disruptions, not government priorities, are what truly hinder meaningful debate.
Yet, for Sibal and others in the Opposition, the bigger worry is that Parliament is losing its role as the forum for robust, transparent debate on issues that matter most to ordinary Indians. When sessions are shorter and the agenda is dominated by what they see as distractions, they fear that democracy itself is being weakened. “This is extremely dangerous for democracy, because the real issues are not discussed,” Sibal repeated, his warning hanging in the air as the session concluded.
The debate over Parliament’s relevance is unlikely to fade soon. As India’s political landscape grows ever more contentious, the institution’s ability to serve as a true arena for the nation’s debates will remain under scrutiny. For now, the Winter Session of 2025 stands as a vivid example of the challenges—and the stakes—involved in keeping the world’s largest democracy vibrant and accountable.
