Opposition demands 'votebandi and votechori' debate in both houses.
Congress says restriction on discussing ECI was removed.
The Congress party on Wednesday said the Opposition as a group demands a discussion on what it called "votebandi" by the Election Commission, and that this is "non-negotiable" for both Houses of Parliament.
There is a logjam in Parliament over the Special Intensive Revision or SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) along with the state election commission. Opposition parties have alleged that is being done to exclude voters before the Bihar Assembly election, tentatively scheduled for October this year.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Rajya Sabha Chair is a "continuing entity". He meant that decisions of the chairperson of the Upper House remain binding, no matter who takes the chair. He also made a discrete reference to the sudden exit of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar from the chairmanship of the house late last month.
"Yesterday, the Deputy Chairman gave a ruling that because the Lok Sabha Speaker had said so on December 14, 1988, any matter concerning the Election Commission cannot be discussed in Parliament. But on July 21, 2023, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, a Modi appointee, had categorically ruled that 'the Rajya Sabha is entitled to discuss anything under the planet with only one restriction'," Ramesh said in a post on X.
"He had gone on to say that the 'only one restriction' related to the conduct of any judge except on a motion related to his removal. The then-Chairman had added that the concept of sub-judice was totally misconceived," the Congress leader said.
He said the Opposition is constantly reminded that Parliament runs on rulings and conventions, "Why is the Rajya Sabha Chairman's ruling of July 21, 2023, being so wilfully ignored?" Ramesh said.
"The Opposition's demand for a discussion on the votebandi and votechori – being orchestrated by G2 through the Election Commission in Bihar & to be followed in West Bengal, Assam, and other states — is non-negotiable in both Houses of Parliament," he said, taking a veiled dig at the BJP leadership.
The Opposition has been protesting in both Houses of Parliament against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging the EC's exercise was aimed at "disenfranchising voters" in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections. They have been demanding a discussion on the issue in both Houses.
Her remarks came amid the logjam in Parliament due to prominent protests by opposition parties demanding a discussion on the SIR exercise. Several MPs of the INDIA bloc parties have also been staging a protest in the Parliament House complex on the issue.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday challenged the government to debate the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar and claimed that the House is not running smoothly as the ruling side has weakened.
The Bihar SIR began on June 24. The enumeration phase, where forms were distributed and collected, concluded on July 25. At present, according to reports, 65 lakh people no longer feature on the draft rolls. The time for objections ends August 31.
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