Govt open to talks on electoral reforms as Opposition pushes for SIR

On a tense opening day of the Winter Session, the government said it was willing to discuss electoral reforms and SIR after Opposition-led disruptions

After the Opposition frequently disrupted the Lok Sabha proceedings on the opening day of Parliament’s Winter Session on Monday, demanding a debate on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the government in the evening indicated that it was open to holding a discussion on electoral reforms.

 

Earlier in the day, addressing reporters before the start of the session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Parliament is not a place for drama, but a place for delivery. He accused the Opposition of turning the House into a “warm-up arena” for elections or as an outlet to vent out frustration after defeat.

 

 

“We need to work with a sense of responsibility. Parliament is not a place for drama, it is a place for delivery,” Modi said. Alluding to the Bihar Assembly poll results, the PM said the Opposition was perturbed by the electoral loss and unable to digest failure. “Defeat should not be the ground to create disruption. Victory should not convert into arrogance either,” the PM said.

 

Opposition leaders criticised the PM’s remarks. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Jairam Ramesh termed Prime Minister Modi the “biggest dramebaaz”, and said his statement accusing the Opposition of indulging in drama in Parliament is “nothing but hypocrisy”. “Instead of addressing the real issue of people, Prime Minister Modi has once again made his 'dramebazi’ delivery,” Kharge said in a post on X.

 

The Lok Sabha was adjourned a little after 2 pm following repeated disruptions in the morning and afternoon sessions as the Opposition demanded a discussion on the SIR.

 

Later in the day, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha that while the government is not averse to holding a discussion on SIR or electoral reforms, the Opposition must not insist on setting a timeline. Several Opposition parties staged a walkout in protest, stating that they were not satisfied with the minister’s response.

 

But sources in the government as well as Opposition parties said that the two sides have reached an understanding that an overarching discussion on the “need for further electoral reforms” would be held during the session, which concludes on December 19.

 

“I am saying again, the matter related to whatever you call it, special intensive revision or electoral reforms or whatever. I have stated before the beginning of the Winter Session that the government is not averse to taking up discussion on anything,” Rijiju said. He requested that the Opposition allow Parliament to take up the listed legislative business. “Don't presume that the government is not ready to discuss any matter," the minister said, adding: “Please do not put a condition on the timeline.”

 

The Rajya Sabha, led by PM Modi, felicitated newly appointed Chairman C P Radhakrishnan. In his maiden address in the Upper House, Radhakrishnan urged members to uphold the Constitution and follow parliamentary norms while adhering to the “Lakshman Rekha” as envisaged under the rules of the House. He said the Constitution of India, along with the Rules Book of Rajya Sabha, determine the “Lakshman Rekha” for parliamentary discourse.

 

Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, appealed to Radhakrishnan to treat the Opposition and Treasury benches equally. Kharge also remembered Radhakrishnan's predecessor former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, triggering protests from the Treasury benches. “I am constrained to refer to your predecessor's unexpected and sudden exit from the office of Chairman Rajya... I was disheartened that this House did not get an opportunity to give him a farewell,” Kharge said.

 

The Congress president also asked the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to not divide Opposition parties. But there were indications that the Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal, is distancing itself from the rest of the Congress-led Opposition bloc. It did not attend Monday morning’s strategy meeting of the Opposition leaders, with its politicians conveying that their party was “not an electoral ally of the Congress”. The Trinamool, however, will join forces with the Opposition bloc on issues such as the SIR.

 

In his speech, Trinamool Congress’ Derek O'Brien, in the context of the pollution in Delhi, wished good health to the Chairman and his family. “We wish you good health, we wish you happiness... You have moved from Coimbatore to a place where the air can be a problem... so good health,” O’Brien said. The Trinamool MP flagged the declining average number of sittings per session to below 20. He said the Chair allowed 110 discussions between 2009 and 2016. In the last eight years, it's down to 36 discussions. He said that the number of Bills being sent for scrutiny by a parliamentary panel has also come down. CPI (M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas voiced concern over passing of Bills in haste and without detailed discussions in the Upper House. Brittas said between 2019 and 2024, 34 per cent of Bills were passed with less than one hour of discussion in the Rajya Sabha. During the same period, around 60 per cent of bills were passed with less than two hours of discussions.

 

In the Lok Sabha, amid the uproar over the SIR, a Bill to implement amendments to the goods and services tax (GST) law in Manipur was passed after a brief discussion. During the 12 minutes of the Zero Hour, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced three Bills, besides tabling supplementary demands for grants for 2025-2026. These (three Bills) included the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025.