New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien on Friday said having a discussion in Parliament on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is the top priority for the party.
Both Houses have been stalled and they have faced multiple adjournments also over SIR, among other issues, ever since Parliament’s Monsoon session started on Monday.
O’Brien, the TMC’s Rajya Sabha parliamentary leader, said the opposition wants the Houses to run, alleging that it is the government that has been running away from the debate on the revision of electoral rolls going on in Bihar and to be implemented in other states, including West Bengal, next year.
He said that the TMC is talking to like-minded parties and may consider resorting to a “gherao” of the Election Commission (EC).
“The SIR issue is the TMC’s top priority for discussion on the floor of Parliament,” O’Brien told reporters.
“The EC has a mandate to conduct elections as a constitutional body but we can’t allow genuine citizens who are voters to be removed. Opposition parties are together and oppose this. The SIR issue has to be discussed in Parliament,” he said.
The opposition parties have said the SIR exercise, which requires voters to provide proof of citizenship, will lead to disenfranchisement of many.
“You are trying to remove people from the voters’ lists; this is amounting to total interference and blatant cheating,” he said.
O’Brien warned that the opposition parties will hold protests outside Parliament as well, and said they will also discuss the option of organising a ‘gherao’ of the poll panel’s office.
“We are talking to like-minded parties; we should also go and ghearo the Election Commission,” he said.
‘Gherao’ is a form of protest where a group of people surround a person or a building.
The TMC leader accused the EC of operating like a “BJP branch office”.
“The EC is operating like a BJP branch office. They are depriving people of their rights. This is not just about Bihar. It’s a dangerous ploy nationally,” he said.
“Why has the EC called 1,000 BLOs (booth-level officers) from Bengal under the guise of a training programme? What devious plans do they have?” O’Brien asked.
He also said the opposition wants Parliament to run, adding that the onus is on the government to allow a debate on the SIR exercise.
“We want Parliament to run; every opposition party wants Parliament to run.
“We want a discussion under any rule on SIR. If the government does not allow that, it means they want to disrupt the House,” he added.
Functioning of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha was stalled in the first week of Parliament’s Monsoon session amid protests by the opposition benches demanding that the SIR exercise, which is underway in poll-bound Bihar, be stopped.
Opposition MPs have also been protesting against their notices demanding debate on various issues, including SIR not being allowed in either of the Houses. PTI AO AO KSS KSS
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