Winter session disrupted by anti-SIR protest, Lok Sabha adjourned for the day

Both Houses of the Parliament witnessed stormy sessions on the second of the Winter Session with the Opposition’s demand for an urgent discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on Tuesday (December 2).

Kharge-Radhakrishnan face off

The Rajya Sabha witnessed sharp exchanges between the new Chairperson, CP Radhakrishnan, and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

Pointing out that the Chair, while rejecting notices submitted by Opposition MPs under Rule 267, did not follow the convention of reading out names of those who gave notices and the subject of the notices, Kharge told Radhakrishnan, "I do not want to embarrass you because today is your first day but I want to tell you not to look only on one side... look at our side also".

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Radhakrishnan shot back, saying, "what do you want me to see? Your people standing in the Well of the House". As the Chairman says he will listen to the Opposition only when the House is in order, Kharge replies, "bringing the House in order is your job and the job of the government, not of the Opposition... 20 people have died (referring to suicides by BLOs engaged in the SIR rollout) and we want a discussion right now".

'Can't confirm timeline, ' says Rijiju

Radhakrishnan urged Leader of the House JP Nadda and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to respond to the issues raised by Kharge. Both assured the Opposition that they will meet the Leader of the Opposition and other Opposition floor leaders later today to find a way to end the logjam.

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Rijiju, however, insisted that he cannot give a definite timeline by which the discussion on electoral reforms, as sought by the Opposition, can be taken up in the House. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister's statement reignites the Opposition's anti-SIR slogans in the House.

Earlier in the day, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon, following protests by opposition parties demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Later, Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid Opposirion's ruckus.

Chaos in Lok Sabha over SIR

The House convened at 11 am, with Speaker Om Birla welcoming a parliamentary delegation from Georgia seated in the Speaker's Gallery to observe the proceedings.

Soon after, the Question Hour commenced, but the opposition members rose to their feet, shouting slogans demanding a discussion on the Election Commission's SIR. Amid the chaos, Birla allowed two MPs to ask questions related to different ministries, and the respective ministers replied to the supplementaries.

Also Read: Winter Session: Govt not averse to discussing SIR, says Rijiju

As the protest continued, the Speaker urged the members to cooperate, stressing the importance of Question Hour. "In a democracy, it is natural to have differences. But behaviour and utterances of some members inside and outside the House are not acceptable," he said, adding that all members should maintain the dignity of the House and the country.

"I always give enough time to every member. But everyone should also maintain the highest standard of the world's largest democracy," he said. The Speaker then adjourned the house till 12 noon.

Repeated adjourments over SIR

Proceedings on the first day of the Winter Session on Monday had also been disrupted due to the opposition protests, leading to repeated adjournments. The last session was a virtual washout over demands by the opposition for a debate on the SIR, then being held in Bihar.

Opposition leaders, while emerging from an all-party meeting on Sunday, had said that they would press for a debate on SIR.

The SIR row

The EC had announced SIR in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026. In Assam, where polls are also due in 2026, the revision of electoral rolls was announced separately. It is being called 'Special Revision'.

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Nearly 51 crore electors will be covered in the massive voters' list cleanup exercise.

The primary aim of the SIR is to weed out foreign illegal migrants by checking their place of birth.

The move assumes significance in the wake of a crackdown in various states on illegal migrants, including those from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

(With agency inputs)