Lok Sabha to Debate Vande Mataram on Dec 8; Electoral Reforms Scheduled for Dec 9: Rijiju

The Lok Sabha is set to hold a debate on the 150th anniversary of National Song 'Vande Mataram’ on Monday, December 8, 2025, followed by discussions on electoral reforms on Tuesday and Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open the debate on 'Vande Mataram’. Each subject has been given 10 hours of discussion time, with scope for extension if members agree.

The schedule comes after days of disruptions in both Houses over demands to discuss the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. An all-party meeting and a Business Advisory Committee meeting, both led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, worked out the plan. The moves indicate a possible end to the stand-off between the Opposition and the government.

Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms and Vande Mataram: schedule and structure

Congress’ chief whip K. Suresh said that the debate on electoral reforms would run across two days, after the discussion on 'Vande Mataram’. “The BAC meeting discussed the debates to be held on Vande Mataram and electoral reforms, (with) opposition's SIR discussion debate clubbed under electoral reforms. On Monday (December 8, 2025), the House will take up the debate on Vande Mataram and then on Tuesday (December 9) and Wednesday (December 10), the House will debate electoral reforms,” K. Suresh told reporters.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju explained the formal schedule in a post on X after the meetings with parties and the committee. “During the All Party Meeting Chaired by Speaker Lok Sabha today, it has been decided to hold discussion in Lok Sabha on 150th Anniversary of National Song 'Vande Mataram' from 12 Noon on Monday, December 8 and discussion on Election Reforms from 12 noon on Tuesday, December 9,” Mr. Rijiju said in a post on X.

Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms and Vande Mataram: political stand-off over SIR

Before the Business Advisory Committee met, Om Birla held separate talks with leaders from different parties. The aim was to end the repeated adjournments that had hit the House over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories. Opposition members had demanded a clear commitment that the SIR exercise would be discussed on the floor.

Earlier that day, Kiren Rijiju met floor leaders but did not commit to any date for an electoral reforms debate at that stage. Rijiju argued that the Opposition could not decide the government’s timetable. Rijiju is learnt to have said the SIR exercise fell under the Election Commission’s administrative authority, and that the government did not control that process.

According to Rijiju’s position, the government is open to a wide discussion on electoral reforms, since that lies within its policy domain. However, a stand-alone debate on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls was not accepted. The Opposition has continued to press for a formal assurance that SIR will be addressed during the broader electoral reforms discussion.

The Lok Sabha had already been adjourned for two straight days because of Opposition protests over the SIR exercise, which is underway in 12 states and Union Territories. With a structured timetable now set for debates on 'Vande Mataram’ and on electoral reforms, both sides appear to have a route to air their concerns within the House.