Modi, Shah call on Murmu amid logjam in Parliament over Bihar electoral rolls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday called on President Droupadi Murmu separately within hours. The visits come a day before Parliament reconvenes for the monsoon session amid growing opposition by the Congress-led INDIA bloc to the ongoing electoral roll revision in Bihar.

The Modi-Shah meetings with the President triggered speculation as the purpose of the visits wasn’t known.

Incidentally, the visits came two days ahead of the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, a significant decision taken by the Modi regime on August 5, 2019. A year later the same day, the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Temple was conducted. Modi’s meeting with Murmu also came days after US President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on exports from India.

The Parliament proceedings on Monday, meanwhile, are expected to be stormy, with the Opposition unlikely to relent on its demand for a discussion on the Bihar special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls. Barring a two-day discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor in both Houses, no business has been conducted in Parliament so far due to the Opposition’s anti-SIR protests.

The government is unwilling to concede to the demand for a discussion on the SIR, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju arguing the Election Commission was a constitutionally autonomous body and no minister had the authority to reply to a debate on a matter under the poll panel’s jurisdiction.

As the face-off is expected to continue, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha may not be able to transact any business. The government has listed in the Lok Sabha the National Sports Governance Bill, which envisages greater transparency in the functioning of sports bodies, and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill.

The Rajya Sabha has listed a resolution from Home Minister Amit Shah on the extension of the President’s rule in Manipur by another six months effective August 13. The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill has also been listed in the Upper House. Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc has been alleging that the SIR was aimed at excluding voters sympathetic to its agenda and boosting the prospects of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. The EC, for its part, has said it would roll out the exercise nationally to “protect” the integrity of electoral rolls and to ensure only eligible electors were allowed to cast vote.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has been critical of the EC, accusing it of “vote chori” (vote theft). Rahul will host a dinner for top INDIA bloc leaders on August 7 to discuss the alleged electoral malpractices as well as the upcoming vice-presidential elections.