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Rohit Kumar

NEW DELHI, Nov 30: A day before the Winter Session of Parliament begins on Monday, the Opposition parties put up a united front at an all-party meeting on Sunday demanding discussions on the controversial “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of electoral rolls and national security with the government without giving any assurance said it would engage with everyone to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament.

The all-party meeting was held hours before the Business Advisory Committees (BAC) of the two Houses convened later in the day to finalize the legislative business of the session. As many as 50 leaders of 36 political parties attended the all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the session with the opposition also giving indications that the functioning of both the Houses would be hampered if their demands for SIR, national security and other pressing issues were not allowed. They also alleged that the government wanted to “finish off” democracy and “bury” parliamentary traditions.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the all-party meeting to discuss the agenda for the Winter session of Parliament was a mere formality.

The all-party meeting chaired by the Defense Minister Rajnath Singh also saw the Opposition demand discussions in Parliament on air pollution and developments to the government’s foreign policy. The government has already signaled that a discussion on SIR per se would not be possible, as it was an administrative exercise being carried out by the Election Commission, an autonomous body, and the government cannot answer on its behalf.

But sources in the Opposition said the parties were united in demanding a discussion on the SIR. The EC on Sunday extended the deadline for electors to submit enumeration forms in the ongoing SIR from December 4 to December 11. Sources said the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which was not part of the Opposition bloc, has also demanded a discussion on electoral transparency.

The government side was represented by Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, and Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. Also present was the Leader of the Rajya Sabha and Health Minister JP Nadda. Sources in the Opposition said the government did not commit to a discussion on SIR. “They listened patiently but did not say anything,” said a senior Opposition leader.

Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, said his party wanted a discussion on the Delhi blast as it was “a testimony to the failures of our home affairs departments.” He said the Opposition also wanted a discussion on the “security of democracy.” “There should be a discussion on the security of voter lists and election security. Our third demand was the security of our health, given the way air pollution is increasing in every corner of the country. The fourth issue was our economic security. The fifth issue we raised was natural security. The way floods, landslides, and hurricanes are occurring, there is no preparation,” he said.

Sources said the Opposition parties would meet Monday morning to fine-tune their floor strategy. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, has convened a meeting of Opposition floor leaders, but it is to be seen whether parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is not part of the INDIA bloc, and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) attend the meeting.

“The Opposition parties were unanimous that the issue of SIR should be discussed, also national security, rural distress and federal issues, including how Governors sit on Bills passed by state legislatures. A whole range of issues was raised by the Opposition and other parties,” said CPI(M) leader John Brittas.

Brittas told the meeting that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju had recently said the government cannot discuss SIR per se but was willing to broadly discuss the issue of electoral reforms “We welcome that, let them widen the topic and bring reforms in the electoral process. We are ready for that,” he said.

“The all-party meeting called by the Modi government to discuss the agenda for the Winter Session of Parliament starting tomorrow is a mere formality,” the Congress communications chief and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said. “This session of 15 days will be the shortest in Parliamentary history. The Modi Government has listed 13 Bills for passage. Of these, one replaces an ordinance and two have gone through a committee of the Lok Sabha. So 10 Bills have not been examined by the Standing Committee concerned.”

He added, “Of course, it is possible that a Bill not listed at present will suddenly get introduced towards the later part of the short session. The Modi Government has made its intentions clear by listing a subject for a short duration discussion WITHOUT any consultation with the Opposition.”

Mr Rijiju said the meeting was cordial and positive. “We have taken note of the suggestions given by leaders of various political parties. We will think about it. I want to assure everyone on behalf of the government that we will continue talking with the Opposition to ensure that the Winter Session of Parliament runs smoothly. Also, I want to urge the Opposition leaders to extend cooperation to run Parliament smoothly.

Asked if the opposition’s demand for a discussion on SIR will be accepted, Mr Rijiju said the agenda of the session will be decided by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) this evening. “There are differences among political parties, but if we decide not to disturb the House then productivity will rise, democracy strengthened and Parliament’s respect among people enhanced,” he said.

“In a parliamentary democracy, there will be impasses. There will be differences among political parties because everyone wants to take forward their ideologies and agenda, but if we all decide not to disrupt the House, raise issues on which they have objection to in an orderly manner in the House, talk out the differences then productivity will rise, democracy will be strengthened and the respect for Parliament among the people will remain,” Rijiju said.

While the SIR dominated the meeting proceedings, several other issues, like national security in the wake of the Delhi blast, and labor codes were also raised by the leaders. Some raised the point of federalism, alleging that governors were sitting on bills passed by the state legislatures and funds of opposition-ruled states were being blocked.

Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleged that the ruling party wanted to finish off democracy, derail Parliament, and bury parliamentary traditions. The Congress, he said, demanded a discussion on national security, air pollution, purity of voter list, foreign policy, and issues of farmers who are not getting the right price for their crops.

“It seems the government, under the leadership of the prime minister and the home minister, is looking to finish off India’s democracy and parliamentary traditions,” he told reporters after the meeting. “The EC before, during and after elections is acting in a biased manner. There should be a discussion on the purity of the voter list,” he said.

Mr Gogoi also said India’s foreign policy was being forged on the basis of action of other countries. Congress’ deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said, “The opposition parties feel that if no discussion is held on SIR, this means the government does not want Parliament to function.” He also alleged that Modi failed in fulfilling his responsibility of participating in Parliamentary discussions despite coming to the House.

Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav said his party would not allow Parliament to function if a discussion on the SIR was not held. “We will not allow the House to function if discussion is not held on SIR,” he told reporters, adding, several BLOs killed themselves as they had been told to delete specific votes.

Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee said his party was ready to cooperate in running the House provided treasury benches responded with similar gestures. “The government should allow a discussion on issues such as SIR. Forty persons have lost their lives conducting SIR exercise,” Mr Banerjee said, alleging that the objective of EC was to delete votes through SIR. Mr Banerjee alleged that the government allocated itself 70 per cent of the Houses’ time and that its tendency has been to pass the bills in the day.

Opposition alleged that the Prime Minister used the word ‘ghuspaithiya’ in his poll campaign for Bihar, but the SIR in the State proved otherwise. “We hope good sense will prevail… and a discussion on SIR is held,” Mr Banerjee said.

The government has listed 13 Bills to be taken up for consideration, discussion and passage in the session, which is scheduled to end on December 19 after 15 sittings.

These Bills are:

1. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025
2. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025
3. The Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025 (to replace an Ordinance)
4. The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2025
5. The National Highways (Amendment) Bill, 2025
6. The Atomic Energy Bill, 2025
7. The Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025
8. The Securities Markets Code Bill (SMC), 2025
9. The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025
10. The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2025
11. The Higher Education Commission of India Bill, 2025
12. The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025
13. The Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025.