The Lok Sabha will today open a key discussion on election reforms, with special focus on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Opposition parties, especially the Congress, have been pushing for this debate, blaming widespread discrepancies in voter lists under the ongoing revision process.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is likely to begin the discussion and sharpen the opposition’s criticism of the government and the ECI. Congress has alleged that the SIR process has resulted in confusion among voters and placed Both Level Officers (BLOs) under pressure.
Opposition’s take over SIR
Rahul Gandhi has continuously questioned the rationale and implementation of SIR. On November 23, he had accused the government of pushing a flawed revision drive. He stated that BLOs were facing extreme stress and that citizens were struggling to locate their names in outdated scanned voter lists. He termed it as “chaos under the guise of reform,” he alleged that the process was being rushed without transparency or sufficient safeguards. Gandhi is likely to reiterate these concerns in the Lok Sabha today, whereas the government to preparing to respond with its counter arguments.
What will the debate focus on?
The House will examine how the SIR exercise is being conducted across states. The speed of revision, the impact on voters whose names may have been flagged or removed and verification methods. Lawmakers are likely to raise questions about voter roll accuracy, the workload pressure on BLOs, and whether the ECI should adopt machine-readable formats and searchable options. The government is likely to defend that SIR is part of the routine electoral process maintenance and necessary to update rolls ahead of state and national polls.
Beyond the election reforms debate, the day’s agenda will include several committee reports. BJP MPs Radha Mohan Singh and Virendra Singh will present four reports on the Standing Committee on Defence. The report will highlight the Ministry of Defence’s 2025-26 demands for grants.
Similarly, UUPL MP Joyanta Basumatary and BJP MP Roadmal Nagar will be presenting Final Action Taken Statements of the Standing Committee on Water Resources. The report will focus on the 2024-25 demands of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, river management in Delhi, and the Upper Yamuna cleaning projects. The winter session of Parliament will continue till December 19.