A total of 43 MPs voted for the proposal, three opposed it and 27 MPs abstained on Tuesday.
The Seimas also decided to ask the Government’s opinion on the draft legislation amending the Labour Code and the Law on Memorable Days and return to the issue in the spring session due to start on 10 March.
If the amendments are green-lit by the Seimas, the 13th of January would be crossed out from the list of memorable days and would become a public holiday.
"We owe a moral debt to all the people who were killed, who were injured, who defended the key institutions of the country, who suffered, who were simply present there. They should be able to come on that day just to talk to their comrades. (...) It is the duty of all of us to make that day meaningful, not so that we do not have to go to work, but so that we can commemorate those events and those who took part in them," Skvernelis said as he presented the draft legislation.
Next year Lithuania will mark the 35th anniversary of the Day of the Defenders of Freedom.