Winter Session set for stormy start as SIR continues to rattle Opposition

New Delhi: The stage has been set for a confrontational fortnight, with the Opposition making it clear that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, national security and air pollution will be at the centre of its strategy inside both Houses as the Winter Session of Parliament begins today.

On Sunday evening, top Congress leaders met at Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s residence to finalise the party’s floor tactics.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi were present at the meeting, along with senior leaders Jairam Ramesh, Manish Tewari and Manickam Tagore.

According to party leaders, the Congress decided to push for a structured debate on electoral reforms, with SIR and the “purity of voter lists” as the main focus area.

Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said Opposition leaders would meet at Kharge’s office at 10 am on Monday to firm up a joint strategy for the session.

“The entire Opposition wants that there should be a discussion on electoral reforms, as such discussions have happened earlier too. This is our topmost priority,” Tiwari said, adding that issues of national security, price rise, unemployment, federalism and “step-motherly treatment” of Opposition-ruled states would also be raised.

He said the Congress would seek a separate debate on air pollution in the national capital.

Earlier in the day, the Opposition sent a similar message at an all-party meeting convened by the government to discuss the business for the brief Winter Session.

Emerging from the meeting, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh described the exercise as “a mere formality”, and accused the government of deciding the agenda unilaterally.

“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 ten Bills have not been examined by the Standing Committee concerned,” he wrote on X, warning that additional legislation could be brought without prior listing.

Ramesh said the government had “made its intentions clear by listing a subject for a short duration discussion without any consultation with the Opposition”.

Congress’ deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi was more direct, alleging that the ruling party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to “finish off” democracy, “derail” Parliament and “bury” parliamentary traditions.

Gogoi said the Congress had demanded debates on national security, air pollution, the integrity of voter rolls, farmers’ issues and foreign policy.

He claimed the government was reluctant to allow a short-duration discussion on national security, including the recent blast in Delhi.

“The second is the security of democracy. 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, adding that the Opposition did not want the “temple of democracy” to be used only to “sing paeans of just one person”.

Regional parties signalled that SIR could become the principal flashpoint of the session.

Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said his party would not allow Parliament to function if the government refused a discussion on the SIR of electoral rolls, which is being conducted by the Election Commission.

“We will not allow the House to function if discussion is not held on SIR,” he told reporters.

Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee accused the government of blocking earlier attempts to raise SIR and MGNREGA in Parliament, saying key debates had been disallowed because “the government was not willing”.

“If Parliament functions only with the government’s consent, then what value does the Opposition hold?” he asked, demanding more time for Opposition parties during debates.

Banerjee flagged reports of deaths linked to the revision drive, saying, “Allow issues raised by Opposition such as SIR… 40 persons (booth level officers) have expired. The process of SIR should not be aimed at deleting names.”

He also called for an elaborate discussion on national security and criticised the government’s rhetoric on “ghuspethiyas”, alleging that the narrative did not match the facts on the ground.

After the meeting, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva said the government had listed 14 Bills and that SIR was the “common issue” for the Opposition.

CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar also sought debates on national security after the Delhi blast, alleged irregularities in SIR and air pollution.

With the government insisting on pushing through its 13-Bill agenda in a compressed calendar and Opposition parties signalling they will insist on priority debates around SIR, national security and governance issues, the 15-day Winter Session is expected to see repeated clashes over both substance and procedure from Day One.