Opposition Protests Ahead Of Op Sindoor Debate, Has A Bihar Voter List Condition

The special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the parliament has hit a delay amid vehement Opposition protests. While the much-awaited debate was set to begin at noon, a fresh demand by the Opposition and an expected government refusal led to a deadlock - and two successive adjournments, till 2 pm. The demand is related to the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar - a burning issue in the state where assembly elections are due this year-end.

Just before the special discussion, the Opposition sought a one-line assurance from the government that the Bihar SIR would be taken up for discussion immediately after the debate on Operation Sindoor.

The government refused, calling it a deception.

"We were all ready for the discussion. Just 10 minutes before the discussion was to start, the Opposition came up with their agenda that the government should give a line of commitment that, after this, the SIR issue would be discussed. This is not how parliament functions. To bring in a condition just 10 minutes before the discussion is not right," said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Why are the Congress and Opposition now running away from discussion on Operation Sindoor, asked the senior BJP leader.

The Opposition has been opposing the SIR, claiming that the exercise will target those opposed to the ruling alliance and benefit the BJP.

The Election Commission, in a bid to allay their fears, has assured that no name will be deleted from the voter list without due process. The poll body is duty-bound to clean the voter list of dead voters, those who have migrated or have registered multiple times, they had argued, justifying the exercise.

The voter list revision issue has already been challenged in the Supreme Court.

The petitioners had earlier alleged that a lack of proper documents was leading to much of the disenfranchisement. The court had then asked the poll body to consider three documents -- Aadhaar, Electoral Photo Identity Card, and ration card -- despite the EC's concern that these documents could easily be forged.

About 22 lakh voters in election-bound Bihar have died, 36 lakh people have either permanently shifted or not been found, and seven lakh have enrolled at multiple places, according to the Election Commission.