NEW DELHI: The second half of Parliament’s Budget session began on a stormy note on Monday with the Congress-led opposition MPs walking out of both Houses after their demand for a detailed discussion on alleged discrepancies in voter lists was rejected.
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and his Rajya Sabha counterpart Mallikarjun Kharge led the charge against the treasury benches in their respective Houses.
Trinamool MP Sougata Roy raised the issue in the Lok Sabha during the zero hour, following which Rahul sought a discussion on it. Roy said it was only after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had flagged concerns over “duplicacy” in election photo I-card numbers that the Election Commission decided to resolve within three months what it described as a “decades long problem”.
Roy alleged that duplicate voter cards had been discovered in some constituencies of West Bengal and also Haryana. He also raised questions on the recently held Assembly elections in Maharashtra where allegations of voter list manipulation were levelled by the main opposition party Congress.
As Roy was speaking, Speaker Om Birla quipped, “Does the Centre prepare voter lists?” The remarks led to protests by opposition MPs, with Rahul saying though the Speaker was right in claiming the government didn’t prepare the voter lists, all the Opposition wanted was a discussion. The demand was echoed by several other MPs.
“The voter lists have come under scrutiny across the country. Questions are being raised by opposition parties unanimously in every state, including Maharashtra,” said the Congress MP.
Kalyan Banerjee, Trinamool Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, said “faulty” voter list was an issue of “serious concern”. “No transparent or fair elections are being conducted in the country,” said Banerjee.
In the Rajya Sabha, opposition MPs walked out after their demand for an immediate discussion on the issue was turned down. The Leader of the House, JP Nadda, however, said the government was “ready to discuss any issue”.
Kharge was initially allowed to speak but as he mentioned the voter lists’ issue, Deputy Chairman Harivansh refused to allow him to make his remarks, saying the notices were rejected. Several opposition MPs raised slogans against the rejection of notices and staged a walkout.
Twelve notices on other issues were also submitted in the Rajya Sabha. DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and P Wilson, CPI’s P Santosh Kumar and PP Suneer, and MDMK’s Vaiko sought discussion on the upcoming delimitation exercise in the southern states.