Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury moves Rule 267 notice in Rajya Sabha, seeks discussion on SIR in Bihar

New Delhi [India], July 25 (ANI): Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury on Friday morning moved a notice under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha, demanding suspension of house business to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being carried out by the Election Commission (EC) in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
Chowdhury expressed concerns that the ongoing voter list revision drive in Bihar poses a "risk of disenfranchising millions" and raised questions about the "fairness" of the process due to "opaque guidelines."
According to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of State (Rajya Sabha), MPs can give a notice under Rule 267 to suspend all listed business and discuss various burning issues.
"This exercise poses a significant risk of disenfranchising millions, especially migrant workers, students, and economically vulnerable groups, who face insurmountable challenges in meeting the stringent documentation requirements. The lack of adequate documentation, particularly for those living in flood-prone or remote areas, makes it impossible for these citizens to prove their eligibility and could lead to mass exclusion from the electoral rolls," the notice read.
"The opaque guidelines for this exercise raise serious doubts about its fairness. There's a growing fear that this revision could be a disguised citizenship test, further marginalising the poor and vulnerable who already face significant socio-economic challenges. This threatens to strip citizens of their constitutional right to vote, disproportionately affecting communities in rural, border, and migrant-heavy areas, whose electoral participation is essential for a functioning Democracy," it added.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh on Friday gave a Suspension of Business notice under Rule 267 and demanded a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar.
The INDIA bloc has flagged the Bihar SIR in the monsoon session of the Parliament and demanded a discussion. The Opposition also staged a protest outside the Parliament on Thursday.
Yesterday, proceedings in both houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day amid protests by the opposition, demanding a discussion on SIR in Bihar.
The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill was being discussed in the Rajya Sabha when MP Bhubaneshwar Kalita, chairing the House, adjourned it following sloganeering by the Opposition, who were protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar.
Krishna Prasad Tenneti, chairing the Lok Sabha, adjourned the House amidst the ruckus by the Opposition during a discussion on the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024.
On the fifth day of the Monsoon Session, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will reconvene on Friday at 11 am.
Expressing the Opposition's views on the issue, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal accused the EC of being "biased" in its conduct of the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
The Congress MP also criticised the Union government, claiming it had failed to take its own members into confidence over the SIR process, and warned that the exercise could prove to be a "disaster" for the country.
"The government cannot even convince their own members, even they are saying this exercise is going to be a big disaster for democracy. ECI is completely biased. This is what the country is witnessing now," Venugopal told ANI.
The Monsoon Session of the Parliament began on July 21 and will continue till August 21. (ANI)