The second day of the Winter Session of Parliament opened amid growing tension on Tuesday, with Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi moving an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha over what he described as “vulnerabilities in our electoral rolls.” Gogoi said these gaps pose a threat to the basic promise of free and fair elections, which he stressed must remain the foundation of Indian democracy.
In his notice to the Lok Sabha Secretary-General, Gogoi wrote that public faith in institutions is already strained, and any irregularities in voter lists raise serious doubts about the commitment of authorities to protect the democratic mandate. His demand for a discussion comes at a time when Opposition parties have been repeatedly asking the government to allow a detailed debate on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country.
Congress leaders have been saying that the revision process is “unplanned and rushed.” They argue that Booth Level Officers, or BLOs, are under extreme pressure to complete the task on short timelines. Some leaders have also referred to reported cases of deaths, allegedly by suicide, linked to the pressure of this exercise. The party has insisted that the SIR should be suspended until the government conducts a proper assessment of the issues being raised. 
Alongside Gogoi, several other Congress MPs such as Manickam Tagore, Vijay Kumar, and KC Venugopal also moved adjournment motions earlier in the day. Their notices called for immediate suspension of the SIR, saying the process was being carried out without adequate preparation and without taking the ground realities into account.
Ahead of the day’s proceedings, Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said the Opposition must be allowed to present its views, adding that many voices were not heard during the last Monsoon Session. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that the Opposition is given a fair chance to speak on issues that directly affect people. Reddy said the Opposition was not asking for anything unreasonable, but only seeking proper debate on electoral reforms and other concerns such as pollution and internal security.
Reacting to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju’s statement that he would “consider” Opposition demands, Reddy said that such an assurance should come in writing. He added that the document should clearly mention when the discussion will be taken up and for how long. According to him, statements made by the Prime Minister suggesting that the Opposition is only doing “drama” show a lack of willingness to allow open dialogue in Parliament.
Reddy also pointed out that the Winter Session is unusually short this year, lasting from December 1 to December 19, with only 15 working days. He said this limited schedule makes it even more important to hold proper discussions instead of rushing through legislation or avoiding debate altogether.
The Opposition’s protest is expected to continue over the coming days. On Monday, the first day of the session, both Houses saw repeated adjournments due to loud sloganeering and protests. Members of the INDIA bloc have also decided to hold a demonstration outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament at 10:30 am to show their united stand on the SIR issue.
Gaurav Gogoi also took to social media to criticise the government for not listing the SIR discussion on the agenda. He questioned why the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was “taking Parliament for granted,” saying this was the second day in a row that the Opposition’s main demand had been ignored. Gogoi wrote that the government holds symbolic meetings before the session to show that they listen to all parties, but when Parliament opens, those very issues disappear from the daily schedule.
He also expressed concern about the short duration of the Winter Session, calling it one of the shortest in recent years. According to him, the government may be trying to “seed chaos” by not allocating enough days and avoiding meaningful debate.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji said that the Opposition alliance had already warned the government that the session could turn “chaotic” if they refuse to schedule a debate on the SIR. She said that Opposition parties met on Monday morning and agreed that they must push strongly for a discussion. If no date is given, she said, they will continue opposing the government inside and outside Parliament.
Congress MPs Manickam Tagore, Vijay Kumar, and KC Venugopal have also submitted motions demanding immediate suspension of the SIR, citing extreme workload on BLOs and serious concerns about voter list accuracy. According to the Opposition, these issues cannot be ignored as they go to the heart of fair elections.
With the Winter Session now in its early days, the standoff between the government and the Opposition is likely to intensify. The question of electoral roll revision has now become the central point of disagreement, and unless the government agrees to a full debate, the unrest inside Parliament is expected to continue.
