Will not allow Parliament to function if discussion not held on SIR: Samajwadi Party

New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party on Sunday said it would not allow Parliament to function if a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is not held during the Winter Session.

After an all-party meeting convened by the government a day before the Winter Session of Parliament, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav asserted that the government cannot shy away from discussing SIR saying it is being conducted by the Election Commission.

"We will not allow the House to function if discussion is not held on SIR," he said.

"The Samajwadi Party has raised the issue of SIR because on a large scale, I have seen irregularities. First, we used to hear but now we are seeing that people's votes are being cut. In Bihar, there have been malpractices. We have demanded a discussion on it (SIR). They cannot shy away from it by citing the Election Commission," Yadav said.

The EC has been created by the government and the creator is bigger than the created, he said.

"Why can't discussion be done when wrongdoing is being committed. If the prime minister's (Narendra Modi) name is cut then will a discussion not take place?" Yadav said.

"I have gone to many places, and I am still travelling. I have been a voter since 1967. In the Etawah district, all of us have been put under Category C. Everyone in the entire district has been placed in Category C. From our district, there are seven MPs from both Houses of Parliament and three MLAs, and every single one of them has been placed in Category C," Yadav said.

The customary meeting was convened to ensure a smooth session which is slated to see introduction of several new bills.

The Winter session commences on Monday and will conclude on December 19.

There will be a total of 15 sittings in the session which has been dubbed as a "brief session" by the opposition. Usually, Parliament sessions have 20 sittings.