Kharge, Sonia, Rahul, other opposition MPs protest against SIR in Parliament complex

Opposition leaders, including Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, protested in Parliament against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, demanding a debate on electoral reforms. The Winter Session saw disruptions and walkouts as the government denied setting a fixed discussion timeline

New Delhi: Several opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday staged a protest in the Parliament House complex against the SIR and demanded a discussion on electoral reforms.

The leaders held posters and placards against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. They also had a huge banner which read ‘Stop SIR-Stop Vote Chori’ and raised slogans against the government.

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Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, DMK’s K Kanhimozhi, and T R Baalu were among the opposition leaders protesting in front of Parliament’s Makar Dwar.

The first day of the Winter session witnessed repeated adjournments of the Lok Sabha and an opposition walkout from the Rajya Sabha over a demand for a debate on the SIR, as the government asserted that it is not averse to a discussion, but a timeline cannot be set.

Interacting with reporters in the Parliament House complex before the start of the session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday had hit out at the Opposition, accusing it of turning Parliament into a “warm-up arena” for elections or as an outlet to vent out frustration after defeat, and offered to give them tips to bring positivity in politics.