NEW DELHI: As the government and the Opposition continue to be at loggerheads over the demand for a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, both sides have resorted to past rules and precedents to substantiate their claims.
While the government maintains that the functioning of autonomous institutions such as the Election Commission cannot be discussed in Parliament, the Opposition has cited several instances of Lok Sabha Speaker allowing discussions on ‘electoral reforms’ in the past. In its meeting with Speaker on Monday, the Opposition proposed discussion on “electoral reforms” as a “middle path” to end the deadlock in Parliament. However, the government is unlikely to yield to the demand.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday on the demand for a discussion on SIR, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stressed that rules do not allow sub-judice matters to be discussed in the House. He also pointed out that the functioning of autonomous institutions such as the Election Commission cannot be discussed in Parliament.
Earlier, the Lok Sabha Speaker and other ministers have cited the precedent of former speaker Balram Jakhar, who turned down a demand for a discussion in the House on the Election Commission’s functioning, given that the poll panel is conceived as an independent entity.
To substantiate the opposition’s claims, Congress general secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh cited a post by the party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, which claimed that Parliament has a long history of discussing electoral reforms and the functioning of the Election Commission. Ramesh said Gogoi has done excellent research and “thoroughly exposed the bogus claims of the Modi government, which is preventing Parliament from functioning smoothly”.
In a post on X, Gogoi said that in 1961, the Rajya Sabha debated amendments to the Conduct of Elections Rules ‘ the discussion was led by then Law Minister Gopal Swarup Pathak, he said.
In 1981, Congress MP Manubhai Patel moved a resolution to set up a parliamentary committee to review election laws, Gogoi pointed out. “In 1991, the Upper House debated the urgent need to amend existing election laws.
In 2015, a Calling Attention Motion was moved by Rajya Sabha LoP Ghulam Nabi Azad on proxy and e-postal voting for NRIs. Law Minister DV Sadananda Gowda accepted the Opposition’s demand to consider their views,” the Congress MP said.
“And as recently as 2019, a Short Duration Discussion on electoral reforms saw participation from the then Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. There is ample precedent. The government must not delay the long overdue and essential discussion on electoral reforms. Let us discuss electoral reforms in Parliament,” he added.