Rahul to lead high-stakes debate on electoral reforms in Lok Sabha today amid SIR row

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi will lead a high-stakes discussion in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday on electoral reforms and the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union territories by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The debate, scheduled in the lower house, has been a long-standing demand of Congress-led opposition parties, who have repeatedly agitated against the EC’s move.

Top opposition leaders, including former Union Minister Manish Tewari, Congress general secretary in charge of organisation K C Venugopal, and senior leaders from parties such as the Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, are expected to speak. The discussion will continue for two days.

From the government side, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will reply on Wednesday, while senior BJP leaders including J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah may also participate.

The Election Commission announced the SIR in 12 states and UTs to remove duplicate votes and ensure that no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible voter remains on the rolls.

Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has strongly opposed the exercise, sending repeated delegations to the EC to stagger the process over several years, instead of adhering to the tight February 14, 2026 deadline for final rolls.

Similarly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin of the DMK has challenged the exercise in courts.

The political slugfest began with the SIR process during the recently concluded Bihar Assembly elections, where the NDA swept to victory, and now spills into Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi is expected to attack the government over the opposition’s latest allegations of vote manipulation. In recent months, he has held three press conferences highlighting mass discrepancies in the electoral rolls, accusing the Election Commission of facilitating BJP victories through alleged voter list manipulation.

From the BJP side, senior MP from Jharkhand’s Godda, Nishikant Dubey, is expected to open the debate, while PP Choudhary, head of the Joint Parliamentary Committee studying ‘One Nation One Election’, will also speak.