NEW DELHI: The contentious issue of Special Intensive Review or SIR sparked heated exchanges between the government and the opposition in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday with Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge raising questions about the process and referring to it as a “scam” and House leader JP Nadda replying that the opposition parties have no confidence in the Election Commission.
Nadda also criticized the West Bengal government, which raised questions about the SIR, alleging that the “rule of law has deteriorated” in the state.
As soon as the House was in session, Karg raised the issue of SIR and said the exercise was ostensibly aimed at cleaning the voter list but was allegedly fraught with numerous irregularities and malpractices.
“What Derek O’Brien (TMC) raised in the House… is very important. Everywhere, SIR is running frauds to win elections including Tamil Nadu, Bengal and elsewhere…” Karg said. His use of the word “fraud” prompted a sharp reaction from Chairman CB Radhakrishnan who said it was an unsubstantiated claim.
As the President did not relent and allow Karg to speak, the opposition parties walked out in protest. Neda later referred to this as an example of “subversive tactics.”
Earlier, while raising the issue of SIR, O’Brien said that the practice is not an electoral reform but a violation of people’s rights in the name of voter verification campaign.
Nadda criticized the opposition for questioning the initiative, saying that the parties had shown little interest in the European Commission. Targeting the Trinamool Congress, which is in power in West Bengal, Nadda said the party has shown no respect for the judiciary, EC and democratic procedures.
While responding to a question asked by TMC’s Sukhendu Shekhar Rai, Nadda said that the TMC government is responsible for the situation and confusion over SIR.
In his supplementary question, Rai alleged that “coercive measures” had been taken in West Bengal in the name of SIR and demanded that a team be deputed from the central government to find out why the Prime Minister took to the streets to protest against SIR.
“He spoke about why the Prime Minister was being punished and why so many coercive steps were being taken… This is being done because the only state left is West Bengal, where the rules, regulations and rule of law have deteriorated. They are not respecting democratic procedures,” Nadda said. They do not respect political norms. They do not believe in democratic activities, and even threaten the judiciary.”
He defended the SIR and said that the Government of India works according to the rule of law.
