SIR cloud over Parliament Session as Oppn, govt standoff intensifies

Indian Express

3 hours ago

The prospect of normal functioning of Parliament in the Monsoon Session seems to have faded due to the continuing face-off between the government and the Opposition over the latter's vehement demand for a discussion on the Election Commission (EC)'s controversial special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
The logjam over the SIR affair has already led to the proceedings of both the Houses being disrupted since the Monsoon Session got underway on July 21, barring a special debate on the Operation Sindoor and Pahalgam attack.
On Monday, while the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day to mourn the demise of former Jharkhand chief minister and JMM patriarch Shibu Soren, the Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned without transacting any business due to the Opposition MPs' vociferous protests over the SIR issue.
A meeting of the floor leaders from several Opposition and NDA parties, such as the JD(U) and TDP, held by Speaker Om Birla to break the deadlock did not yield any results. Sources said the Opposition leaders told the Speaker that they were not insisting that the debate should specifically focus on the EC's functioning and that it could be on overall electoral reforms and voters' lists. 'But we were informed that the government has no plans for a debate on the issue,' said an Opposition leader.
The ruling BJP was said to be not keen on holding a discussion on the SIR row over which some of its NDA allies have concerns too.
The Opposition leaders however insisted that the government must agree for a discussion on electoral rolls before coming up with any legislative agenda. 'Since the beginning of this Monsoon Session, we have been demanding a discussion on SIR of electoral rolls. In the meeting, we have even suggested that the naming of the discussion can be different. Any wording can be used – it can be electoral reforms, voter deletion – and the government can also decide under which rule it can be held. But we are very clear that we want a discussion because it's a serious thing for our democratic process. But the government is not yet ready,' the Congress's whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said.
Tagore said the Opposition INDIA bloc parties were on the same page over this demand.
However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government would be forced to press for the passage of its various Bills in Parliament in the midst of the Opposition MPs' protests. He said the government wants a thorough discussion over its Bills but would be compelled to push for their passage in 'national interest' as these legislation are important for governance.
Hitting out at the Opposition, he said they had agreed for a two-day discussion on the National Sports Governance Bill and National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, both of which were scheduled to be taken up together for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha Monday, but they disrupted the proceedings.
Sources said the government is likely to push these Bills amidst din on Tuesday, if the Opposition does not agree for cooperating with the Treasury benches. In the Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to push the statutory resolution to extend the presidential rule in Manipur by another six months, which has already been passed by the Lok Sabha last week.
Rijiju made it clear that a debate on the SIR cannot take place in Parliament as the exercise is part of the poll body's administrative action and functioning.
He as well as some other ministers cited a ruling by ex-Speaker Balram Jakhar, a late Congress veteran, that Parliament cannot discuss the functioning of a constitutional body like the EC.
According to Rijiju, Speaker Birla has already told the Opposition that Parliament can discuss electoral reforms but not the EC's functioning, pointing out that the poll body had carried out the SIR of electoral rolls earlier as well.
Except for a discussion on the Operation Sindoor in both the Houses early last week, the parliamentary proceedings have been a washout so far, even as the SIR row has ignited sustained protests by the Opposition parties within and outside Parliament.
The INDIA bloc leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, had last Friday written to Birla, seeking a debate on the SIR exercise.
The Monsoon Session is scheduled to end on August 21.