Ahead of Parliament's Winter Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged the opposition not to vent its frustration of the assembly polls defeat inside the House and move forward leaving behind its "negativity" of last nine years

Speaking with the media outside the Parliament building, Modi said the country has rejected negativity and asserted that the Winter Session was a golden opportunity for the opposition. "If I speak on basis of the assembly poll results, this is a golden opportunity for opposition. Instead of making plans for venting frustration over defeat, they should learn from this defeat, leaving behind the habit of negativity of the last nine years, if they move forward with positivity this session, the country will change its views towards them," he said.

Parliamentary party leaders of the INDIA bloc met in the chamber Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in Parliament on Monday ahead of the start of the winter session. The leaders of the block discussed their floor strategy in Parliament. Kharge is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam on Monday submitted a notice under Rule 267 demanding suspension of business in the upper house to discuss the ecology of the Himalayas. In his notice, the CPI MP said that the issue must be addressed in the Rajya Sabha because it poses a severe threat to workers who are at the forefront of development projects in the Himalayan region.

"It is learnt that Shilkyara tunnel incident is not an isolated one but bas occurred for over 30 times in the last 5 years underscoring the negligence of human safety. The lack of proper safety measures being followed including the lack of adequate insurance provided to these workers is a matter of grave significance and cannot be overlooked. The Himalayas are young and still evolving mountains with potential of great volatility," Viswam said.

Ahead of the Session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has appealed to all political parties for cooperation to ensure the smooth functioning of the House. In a post on X, the Speaker expressed his hope in members of the Lower House to participate in the proceedings with discipline and decorum. "Winter Session of Lok Sabha is starting from today. It is hoped that with the active cooperation of all parties, there will be deep reflection in the House on issues related to national interest and public welfare. Honourable members will participate in the proceedings with discipline and decorum," Speaker Birla said in a Hindi post on X.

Meanwhile, several opposition MPs expressed surprise as the report of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in a "cash-for-query" case was not tabled in the House though it was listed on Monday's agenda.

As soon as the House reassembled at 12 noon after an adjournment, ministers laid papers and the three reports on bills seeking to replace criminal laws were presented. But Kirit Solanki, who was presiding the proceedings, skipped mentioning the report which was listed as item number five in Monday's list of business.

Later, Moitra told reporters that TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyaya asked the Chair in the House as to why the item was not taken up. She said the Congress' K Suresh and the RSP's N K Premchandran also raised the same question but there was no reply.

Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said later that for reasons best known to the committee, the report has not been tabled. He said there would have been some reason which "forced them" not to table the report on Monday. "I think today or tomorrow, someday it will be tabled," he said outside the Parliament House.

Moitra said she will comment on the report when it is tabled. "They printed it as item number five. I don't know much about Parliament procedure, they know everything... As far as I know, if it is item no five, it should be read at least ... Let's see when they bring it," she said.