Opposition MPs Stage Protest In Parliament Over ‘Flawed’ Electoral Roll Revision; House Adjourned Amid Uproar

Opposition MPs on Tuesday staged a sharp protest inside the Parliament premises against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise has been mishandled and has led to multiple Booth Level Officer (BLO) deaths. The demonstration began at 10:30 a.m. outside the Makar Dwar, ahead of the day’s proceedings.

The protest followed an 8:30 a.m. notice in Parliament seeking adjournment of listed business to urgently discuss the reported BLO fatalities and the SIR process. MPs raised slogans of “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhor” on the second day of the Winter Session.

“A flawed, rigged SIR process has claimed over 20 lives, but the Modi government refuses to even have a discussion in Parliament about it!” Congress MP K.C. Venugopal posted on X.

Soon after the protests intensified, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon as opposition members entered the Well of the House demanding an immediate debate on SIR.

The opening day of the Winter Session on Monday had also seen repeated adjournments, first till noon, and later for the entire day, as the Opposition pressed for a discussion on the SIR exercise underway across 12 States and Union Territories.

Speaking to ANI during the protest, Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We will continue to protest to save democracy and against injustice.”

A day earlier, ahead of the start of the session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged lawmakers to focus on substance over spectacle. He cautioned that Parliament should not become “a stage for political theatrics,” remarking, “For some time now, our Parliament has been used either as a warm-up arena for elections or as an outlet for frustration after defeat.”