The second part of the Budget session that resumes in Parliament on Monday (March 10, 2025) is expected to be a noisy one, with the Opposition parties preparing to train the spotlight on electoral rolls and delimitation.
The Trinamool Congress wants a detailed debate on the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issue, which was recently raised by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Several Opposition parties, including the Shiv Sena (UBT), Left parties, and the Samajwadi Party will join the cause, while the DMK will focus on the impending delimitation exercise.
The Congress, so far, has not taken a call on its strategy for the session. The Congress Parliamentary Strategy group is meeting to discuss its stand only on Monday evening.
Collaborative effort
Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said the problems in the electoral rolls, especially the party’s recent revelations on the duplicate EPIC numbers was not an issue that belonged to one political party. “This is an issue that concerns every citizen of India. There has to be free and fair elections,” Mr. O’Brien said, adding that there would be a “collaborative effort” from the Opposition to raise this issue.
The Samajwadi Party will back the Trinamool’s call. “In a democracy, it is crucial that the agency which conducts the elections works without any prejudice and bias. In the last few years, several questions have been raised on the way our elections have been conducted, from denying voting rights to a certain section to duplicate EPIC numbers. There is an urgent need to discuss these issues,” SP’s Rajya Sabha MP Javed Ali Khan said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also confirmed that his party would support the demand for an in-depth debate on the subject. Mr. Raut, along with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and NCP leader Supriya Sule had recently addressed a press conference in the capital on the “unusual addition” of voters in the Maharashtra electoral rolls.
Speaking on the issue, senior CPI(M) leader and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said, “There are numerous pertinent issues of transparency with regard to the functioning of Election Commission (EC). The Left parties want to take up the whole gamut of issues concerning independence of the EC.”
The DMK’s Rajya Sabha leader Tiruchi Siva said that for his party and State, the lack of clarity on delimitation was one of the top priority issues. “There is an apprehension that the southern States will lose seats because of the idea of representation proportionate to our population. While we hold no grudges against the northern States, the southern States should not lose representation. The government needs to explain how they plan to go about it,” Mr. Siva said.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), while supporting both the issues, said its primary focus would be on the delay in conferring special category status on Odisha. “As far as delimitation, we believe wider discussion and understanding in terms of the road map ahead is required. The government should ensure that no State will lose its seats,” BJD leader and RS MP Sasmit Patra said.
Published – March 07, 2025 09:29 pm IST