LS to Debate Election Reforms Amid Opposition Criticism of SIR

While the opposition has been demanding a discussion on the SIR issue for months, the Congress has been citing inconsistencies in the voter list. The Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha is expected to open the debate today. The LoP criticized the SIR, claiming that the government was using this process to delete genuine voters.

On November 23, Rahul Gandhi said: “Under the guise of SIR, chaos was unleashed across the country – result? 16 BLOs lost their lives in three weeks. Heart attacks, stress, suicides – SIR is not a reform, it is an imposed tyranny.” He accused the Electoral Commission of forcing citizens to search through decades of scanned pages to find their names, calling the process a “calculated ruse” that burdened voters and dismissing the BLO deaths as “collateral damage.”

On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi is expected to intensify his criticism as he prepares his anti-government rant. A total of 10 hours were devoted to the debate in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, the day’s business list includes BJP MPs Radha Mohan Singh and Virendra Singh presenting four reports of the Standing Committee on Defense on steps taken by the government regarding the recommendations made in previous reports on grant requests to the Ministry of Defense for 2025-26.

UPPL MP Joyanta Basumatary and BJP MP Rodmal Nagar will present final action statements taken by the Standing Committee on Water Resources, including review of Upper Yamuna River cleaning projects up to Delhi, riverbed management and Jal Shakti Ministry’s grant requests for 2024-25.

The 6th Session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the 269th Session of the Rajya Sabha began on 1 December, marking the beginning of the Winter Session of Parliament, which will end on 19 December.