SIR clash in Rajya Sabha as Chair rejects debate, Opposition walks out

Amid the logjam over the Opposition’s demand for an immediate discussion over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Rajya Sabha witnessed a heated debate on the issue with the Chairman CP Radhakrishnan rejecting the Opposition’s demand on Tuesday (December 2), saying that the Government would inform the Opposition when the discussion is listed.

Rijiju-Opposition clash ovrer SIR debate

Earlier, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju urged the Opposition not to insist on a time-bound assurance for a discussion on electoral reforms. He said that the government has already scheduled a short-duration discussion to commemorate 150 years of Vande Mataram, and that it should be allowed to take place before the discussion on electoral reforms, adding that the Vande Mataram discussion is a matter of national importance.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge and Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien demanded that the discussion on electoral reforms be held on priority. Kharge said that the discussion on electoral reforms has been sought under Rule 267, which means it should prevail over all other listed business, and so the House must take up a discussion on electoral reforms while discussion on Vande Mataram can be taken up later as scheduled.

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DMK MP Tiruchi Siva argued that the Opposition is prepared to discuss Vande Mataram, but electoral reforms should be discussed earlier because the SIR exercise is also time-bound, and people expect the Opposition to raise their concerns with urgency.

CPI(M) MP John Brittas asked Rajya Sabha Chairperson VP Radhakrishnan that, when the government has conceded that discussion on electoral reforms is an urgent and important matter, why should it not be taken up immediately in keeping with Rule 267. Opposition MPs later staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha.

Rahul slams PM Modi over SIR

Meanwhile, several Opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday staged a protest in the Parliament House complex against the SIR and demanded a discussion on electoral reforms.

Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue, saying the PM states that Parliament belongs to the people of India, but he constantly "shies away" from discussing important issues related to people's welfare.

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"What could be a bigger public issue in a democracy than voting rights?" Gandhi said in a Facebook post in Hindi after the protest.

Noting that the INDIA bloc held a strong protest outside Parliament House against the SIR, Gandhi said the opposition demands that a serious discussion on the SIR should take place in Parliament to protect the Constitution and democracy.

"Every citizen's rights are vested in the vote, and the SIR is clearly a weapon to cut the votes of the country's poor and Bahujan community and make elections one-sided," the former Congress chief said.

Priyanka reiterates 'vote-theft' charge

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who also participated in the protest, alleged that the Narendra Modi government and the Election Commission were together executing 'vote theft' through the SIR.

"This is an organised attempt to strip the voting rights of our millions of Dalit, backwards, tribal, and deprived brothers and sisters. Despite all the questions being raised, the Election Commission is not answering any of them, and the government is openly defending the Commission," she said in a post in Hindi on X after the protest.

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"This is a conspiracy to destroy democracy and the Constitution and to establish dictatorship. We will not allow this to happen under any circumstances," Priyanka Gandhi asserted.

DMK's K Kanhimozhi, T R Baalu, and CPI(M)'s John Brittas were among the other opposition leaders who took part in the protest in front of Parliament's Makar Dwar.

The leaders held posters and placards against the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list in nine states and three Union Territories. They also had a huge banner which read 'Stop SIR-Stop Vote Chori' and raised slogans against the government.

(With agency inputs)