The Lok Sabha has scheduled a two-day debate on Electoral Reforms on December 9 and 10, a move aimed at resolving the stalemate caused by the Opposition’s insistence on an immediate discussion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day on Tuesday amid continuous disruptions over the SIR issue.
🗓️ Revised Lok Sabha Schedule
The Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Council has finalized the following schedule for major debates:
| Date | Topic | Key Detail |
| Dec 8 | 150 Years of Vande Mataram | PM Narendra Modi is expected to initiate this debate. |
| Dec 9–10 | Electoral Reforms | This two-day discussion incorporates the Opposition’s demand to debate the controversial SIR process. |
💥 SIR: The Cause of Disruption
The Opposition, particularly the INDIA bloc, continued their fierce protest inside and outside Parliament on Tuesday, demanding that the debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be taken up immediately.
- Opposition’s Stance: Leaders like Priyanka Gandhi called the Sanchar Saathi App (related to telecom security) a “snooping app” and criticized the SIR as an attempt at “vote chori” (vote theft) due to alleged irregularities in the voter lists. Congress MP Renuka Chaudhary’s strong comments against Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju further intensified the political heat.
- Government’s Response: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated the government is “open to discussion” on any issue, including SIR (under the broader topic of electoral reforms), but stressed that the government “will not work under deadlines” or “timeline conditions” set by the Opposition. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan slammed the Congress for “behaving like a child” and attempting to protect “infiltrators” by focusing solely on SIR.
🏛️ Parliament Adjournments and Next Steps
- Lok Sabha: Adjourned for the day amid Opposition sloganeering over SIR, and will reconvene on December 3 (Wednesday) at 11 am.
- Rajya Sabha: Also adjourned for the day and will reconvene on December 3 (Wednesday) at 11 am.
- Negotiations: Rajya Sabha floor leaders are scheduled to meet again on Wednesday to try and resolve the ongoing stalemate. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla convened a meeting of floor leaders on Tuesday afternoon to find a resolution, leading to the scheduling of the Electoral Reforms debate.