Lok Sabha deadlock: Talks between Speaker, Oppn leaders make no headway

New Delhi: Talks between Speaker Om Birla and Opposition floor leaders on Monday to break the deadlock in Lok Sabha did not make any headway. While the Opposition insisted on a discussion on electoral issues in the House, they made a concession that they will not insist on naming it one on Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, sources said.

The meeting was called at 11:30 am, soon after the House adjourned after I.N.D.I.A. MPs rushed to the Well during Question Hour demanding an immediate discussion on SIR in Bihar and other states. The Parliament has been witnessing relentless protest since July 21 demanding a debate on SIR, though Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha discussed Operation Sindoor.

The Opposition floor leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, had on Friday written to Birla seeking a debate on SIR.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister told reporters that he hopes the House will now function after the Speaker's meeting with Opposition leaders. "We are positive with the discussions held and I am hoping that the House will function from now on,” Rijiju said. However, the Lok Sabha could not take up two listed bills on sports governance due to protests by Opposition MPs.

Sources said the Speaker informed the leaders, including Congress’ Kodikkunnil Suresh and Manickam Tagore, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, DMK’s TR Baalu and NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule, that a debate on SIR could not be conducted citing Balram Jakhar in 1980s refusing CPI(M) MP Basudev Acharia’s demand for a discussion on Election Commission’s functioning.

At this, sources said, Sawant and other leaders told the Speaker that they were not insisting that the debate should be specific to the SIR but it could be on overall electoral reforms and process or on voters’ list where they would not be specifically discussing the functioning of the Election Commission.

“We gave three options. One is that the discussion could be on SIR. Others were electoral reforms and inclusion and deletion of names from the voters’ list. We have even indicated that we would not insist on putting SIR in the nomenclature of the debate. But we were told that the government is not inclined,” a senior Opposition leader, who attended the meeting, told DH.

“MPs are elected by a constituency to raise issues. Disruptions like this are not a democratic way,” Rijiju said.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have functioned for around 22 hours each in the first 10 days of ongoing Monsoon Session and majority of the working hours were dedicated to the debate on Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor. However, the government has not acceded to a demand for a debate on SIR, prompting Opposition protests ending in House adjournments.

The Opposition has also been staging protests in Parliament House every day demanding a debate on SIR.