All-party meeting breaks House logjam, agrees to SIR discussion in Lok Sabha on Dec 9

Animesh Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 2

After Opposition protests demanding a debate on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls triggered repeated disruptions during the first two days of the ongoing winter session of Parliament, the government on Tuesday evening agreed to hold a discussion on the contentious issue in the Lok Sabha on December 9.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told the media that the decision was taken after an all-party meeting and a Business Advisory Committee meeting. The Lok Sabha would also hold a discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram on December 8, Rijiju said in a post on X.

“When we discuss electoral reforms, you can discuss and talk about many issues related to elections and their process in our country. For a parliamentary democracy, the election process is extremely important. So, finally, everybody has agreed to the discussion and my special appeal to all the members, especially the opposition parties, is to cooperate fully with the decision taken. We all will take part,” he said.

Rijiju said once the discussions on Vande Mataram and electoral reforms were over, “we will propose to take these up in the Rajya Sabha”. The minister said as the SIR was an administrative matter of the Election Commission, “Parliament had to widen the scope of the discussion”. “The Election Commission reforms are a broader issue. The government oversees the process while Parliament discusses and enacts laws. So, for bigger reforms in the Election Commission and the electoral process, Parliament takes up all related matters,” he said.

Striking an optimistic note, Rijiju said since the matter had been settled by agreeing to a discussion and the time and date too had been finalised, the “government looked forward to a very constructive and engaging discussion”.

The meeting was conducted after the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid persistent sloganeering by opposition MPs demanding a debate on the ongoing SIR of voter lists in 12 states and UTs. The Lower House functioned merely for half an hour after witnessing two adjournments.

Before the Lok Sabha was finally adjourned for the day at 2.05 pm, House general secretary Utpal Kumar Singh read out the list of Bills cleared during the previous monsoon session and to be sent for the President’s assent.

Opposition MPs raised slogans in the Rajya Sabha as well on the SIR issue and later staged a walkout. Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that the “SIR should be given a priority over other business”. The government, however, refused to set a timeline for the debate. Rijiju said the timeline condition should not be put on anything. “Everything cannot be mechanical. There are many issues in the country. You shouldn’t undermine one issue and take up another,” he said.

Amid the heated exchanges, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm. When the House reconvened, the Opposition again pressed for a discussion on the SIR, while the Parliamentary Affairs Minister stressed that a debate on Vande Mataram would be taken up first.

Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien said more than 14 opposition parties wanted a discussion on the SIR because people “had been dying because of it”. Amid the impasse, the Upper House was adjourned for the day.