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NEW DELHI – The commencement of the Parliament Winter Session was anything but routine, as both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were immediately consumed by a fiery political dispute over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls—a process the Opposition claims is a mass disenfranchisement tool and the government defends as an essential step for “electoral purity.”
The opening day saw the Upper House witness an Opposition walkout, while the Lower House endured repeated adjournments, all stemming from the Opposition’s insistence on an immediate debate on the SIR process and its associated deadline controversies.
The SIR Spark : Form Deadline and Deletion Fears
At the heart of the uproar is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, currently underway in multiple states, including those facing imminent assembly elections. Opposition parties—most notably the Congress, TMC, and DMK—allege that the mandatory voter enumeration forms (SIR forms) are being used to deliberately or inadvertently exclude genuine voters, particularly from vulnerable communities, by making the process overly complex and time-bound.
The controversy was amplified by the short deadline given to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to complete the rigorous, door-to-door verification. Reports of BLOs suffering immense stress, with tragic incidents of suicide being linked to the pressure, have been forcefully raised by the Opposition.
“This is not merely a bureaucratic exercise; this is an attempt to weaponize the voter list and erode the integrity of our democracy,” stated a senior Opposition leader after the walkout. “We wanted a full discussion on the floor of the House, but the government is hiding behind the Election Commission (EC) as an autonomous body, refusing to engage on a matter of fundamental electoral justice.”
The Government’s Response: No Room for ‘Drama’
The Treasury benches, however, stood firm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking outside the Parliament, urged the Opposition to set aside “drama” and focus on constructive legislative work, emphasizing that the session should be a place for “delivery, not disruption.”
Government sources maintain that the SIR process is a necessary, court-mandated step to clean up voter lists by removing duplicate entries and deceased persons, thereby ensuring a “purer electoral roll.” They have highlighted the EC’s recent move to extend the deadline for form distribution in several states, arguing that the system is responsive to concerns.
Despite the rancour, the government managed to introduce key financial bills amid the sloganeering, including those related to Central Excise amendments and the imposition of a Cess on ‘sin goods.’
The Legislative Logjam
The deadlock threatens to overshadow a packed legislative agenda, which includes crucial bills aimed at reforming higher education, opening the civil nuclear sector to private players via the Atomic Energy Bill, and consolidating various securities market laws into a unified code.
As the session moves into its second day, the political forecast remains stormy. The Opposition has vowed to continue its protest until a debate on the SIR issue is granted, effectively turning the battle over voter forms into the ultimate test of the Parliament’s ability to function and address the country’s pressing legislative needs.
