Opposition stages walkout in Rajya Sabha, demands SIR debate

New Delhi: Opposition members walked out in protest on the second day of the Rajya Sabha, raising questions over the SIR process.

As soon as the House resumed on Tuesday, Derek O'Brien of Trinamool rose to speak with permission from Chairman CP Radhakrishnan.O'Brien referred to the statement made on Monday by the Leader of the House, JP Nadda, regarding a debate on electoral reforms. He alleged that the ongoing SIR process under the current Chief Election Commissioner is unreliable and demanded a discussion on the issue in the House.

The chairman rejected the request, stating that ample time had already been granted for a debate on electoral reforms in December last year. Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge also supported O'Brien and demanded a discussion on electoral reforms.


After the Chairman denied the request, Opposition members staged a walkout. Nadda lamented that the Opposition did not want the House to function. He criticised the Opposition for demanding a debate on SIR when a full discussion on electoral reforms had already taken place in the House.

The Opposition members later returned to the House for Question Hour. The war of words continued during Question Hour when Nadda was replying to questions related to the health ministry. Sukhendu Shekhar Ray of Trinamool criticised the government over the increasing import of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients from China in recent years.Responding to Ray, Nadda also launched an attack on the Trinamool government in West Bengal.

"West Bengal, under the Trinamool government, is the only state where the rule of law has gone for a ride. Trinamool has no respect for democratic procedures. They do not believe in democratic practices and even threaten the judiciary. Recently, their chief minister disrespected the President of India, who herself comes from the tribal community," Nadda alleged.