Govt 'under pressure' on issues of election reform, Vande Mataram: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday hailed his party MPs' performance during the debates on Vande Mataram and election reforms in the House, and told them that the government seemed "under pressure" from opposition on both the issues, sources said.

Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, chaired a meeting with Congress MPs in the Lower House and also heard the views of the party legislators besides taking their feedback.

The Leader of Opposition stated at the meeting that the government seemed "under pressure" from the opposition on both Vande Mataram and election reforms debates, party sources said.

Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said it was discussed during the meeting that the party was successful in raising the current problems of the people such as IndiGo flight disruptions, air pollution and labour codes issue.

"It was also discussed how during the debate on 150 years of Vande Mataram, Mallikarjun Kharge Ji in the Rajya Sabha and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ji in the Lok Sabha brought the truth before the people and blunted the intentions of politicising the issue," Gogoi told reporters after the meeting.

"On vote chori, everyone saw how Rahul Gandhi ji challenged the home minister for a debate on the floor of the House on the issues raised by him in the press conferences on the basis of evidence. The home minister was rattled and also made some unparliamentary remarks," he said.

Congress' chief whip K Suresh said it was a routine meeting that Gandhi calls every session to evaluate the performance of MPs and also heard their views and feedback.

While the debate on Vande Mataram has been wrapped up in both Houses, the debate on election reforms is still on in the Rajya Sabha.