Rajya Sabha Erupts in Chaos Over Election Commission Protest

The Rajya Sabha witnessed heated exchanges on Monday between the treasury and opposition benches, triggered by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s attempt to raise concerns over the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The session, marked by repeated adjournments, descended into chaos as Leader of the House J.P. Nadda objected, arguing the issue was unrelated to the ongoing discussion on the Manipur Appropriation Bill, 2025, and the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

The House, already disrupted by protests over Bihar’s SIR, was adjourned shortly after its 11 a.m. start. When it reconvened at 2 p.m., opposition MPs, detained earlier at Parliament Street Police Station during an attempted march to the ECI, were absent initially. Kharge, raising the detention issue mid-debate, sparked an uproar from treasury benches. Acting Chair Sasmit Patra ruled that only matters related to the Manipur bills would be recorded, prompting Congress MP Pramod Tiwari to challenge Nadda’s influence over proceedings. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pressed on with her reply amid sloganeering.

As opposition MPs entered the Well of the House, chanting against SIR, Deputy Chairman Harivansh, presiding over the passage of the Manipur bills, rejected their points of order, citing disruptions. The House then took up the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025, with Surendra Singh Nagar in the Chair allowing Kharge to speak. Kharge questioned the legitimacy of passing bills in a disorderly House, stating, “This is a betrayal of democracy.” Nadda countered, accusing the opposition of holding the House “hostage” despite prior Business Advisory Committee (BAC) agreements to pass the bills. He criticized their opposition to Manipur’s bills, noting their prior demands for discussion on the state’s issues.

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The opposition’s walkout followed Nadda’s remarks, leading to a 10-minute adjournment before proceedings resumed at 3 p.m. Kharge later posted on X, alleging MPs were barred from submitting a memorandum to the ECI, writing, “We were stopped, not allowed to meet the Election Commission.” The INDIA bloc, including Congress and AAP, claims SIR, affecting 65 lakh voters, is a BJP ploy to suppress Dalit, OBC, tribal, and migrant votes ahead of Bihar’s elections, citing irregularities in 53 constituencies.

BJP leaders, including Kiren Rijiju, accused the opposition of deflecting from alleged Congress links to George Soros, a charge Congress denied. Social media on X reflected polarized sentiments, with @AITCofficial decrying “vote chori” and reporting Congress’s claims of voter disenfranchisement. The ECI, responding to a Congress memorandum, clarified that SIR follows standard procedures, with 1.62 crore voter updates nationwide since 2024, denying targeted deletions. The ongoing deadlock, intensified by a planned INDIA bloc meeting at Rahul Gandhi’s residence, signals escalating tensions as Bihar’s polls loom.

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