The government on Wednesday rejected a demand by the Opposition to hold a discussion in Parliament on the Election Commission’s revising special electoral rolls in Bihar, arguing that the issue is sub-judice before the Supreme Court and not debatable on the floor of the House.
Responding to opposition criticism over the government’s willingness to conduct a dialogue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on the Lok Sabha: ‘We are ready to talk, but there are rules. The Parliament can hold discussion but subject to constitutional provisions, subject to the procedure of the House, he said.
At the heart of the dispute is the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. Opposition leaders claim the process has disenfranchised millions of voters in the poll-bound state. Petitions filed in the Supreme Court allege that over 6.5 million names were removed from the draft rolls.
The top court has asked the Election Commission to respond to the allegations by August 9.
Rijiju said the EC is an autonomous body, and quoted a 1988 ruling by then-Speaker Balram Jakhar to argue that Parliament cannot discuss the Commission’s actions. He also said continued disruptions over this issue are stalling key legislative work. “I urge the members not to disrupt the House. There are important bills to be taken up,” he added.
Opposition leaders say their demand for discussion isn’t about the EC directly, but about broader electoral reforms. Still, government sources indicate no willingness to allow a debate on that front either.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking at a press conference of the INDIA bloc, dismissed the government’s argument. “The voting rights of people should not be stolen… That is what is happening in the SIR exercise,” he said.
Quoting Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Kharge said that the upper house has the powers to discuss “anything under the sun and under the planet” as per a 2023 ruling.
He claimed that the government is misusing electoral rolls to gain benefits to the government and to win elections and then gave the example of Maharashtra where 60 lakh voters were allegedly added and in Bihar the same number was deleted.
Opposition MPs also urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to send two more sports bills pending before the Lok Sabha for the past few days, to a joint parliamentary committee for greater scrutiny.
This has left parliament paralysed as the impasse continues. And neither party appears to be in any mood to compromise.
