LS to Debate Election Reforms Amid Opposition Criticism of SIR

The opposition has been demanding a debate on SIR for months, with Congress alleging discrepancies in the voter list. Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha is expected to open the discussion today. The LoP has criticised the SIR, alleging the government is using the process to delete genuine voters.

On November 23, Rahul Gandhi said, “Under the guise of SIR, chaos has been unleashed across the country — the result? In three weeks, 16 BLOs have lost their lives. Heart attacks, stress, suicides — SIR is no reform, it’s an imposed tyranny.” He accused the Election Commission of forcing citizens to search through decades-old scanned pages to find their names, calling the process a “calculated ploy” that burdens voters and dismisses BLO deaths as “collateral damage.”

On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi is expected to intensify his criticism as the government prepares its counter. A total of 10 hours has been allocated for the discussion in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, the list of business for the day includes BJP MPs Radha Mohan Singh and Virendra Singh presenting four reports of the Standing Committee on Defence on action taken by the government regarding recommendations in earlier reports on demands for grants for the Ministry of Defence for 2025–26.

UPPL MP Joyanta Basumatary and BJP MP Rodmal Nagar will lay the final action taken statements of the Standing Committee on Water Resources on issues including the review of Upper Yamuna River cleaning projects up to Delhi, riverbed management, and demands for grants of the Ministry of Jal Shakti for 2024–25.

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