Opposition exits Rajya Sabha during uproar regarding duplicate voter IDs.
New Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 17 March 2025
On Monday, opposition parties, such as the Congress and the TMC, exited the Rajya Sabha after their request for a debate on the purported failures of the Election Commission regarding the issuance of multiple duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was rejected.
Opposition lawmakers from the Trinamool Congress, Congress, and Left parties submitted notices under rule 267, requesting the suspension of the day’s business to discuss the matters they are raising. However, Deputy Chairman Harivansh stated that they could not be approved since they did not align with the chair’s decisions regarding such notices.
While TMC and Congress MPs aimed to address the issue of duplicate voter ID cards, Tamil parties wished to examine the effects of the upcoming delimitation process on southern states. Opposition MPs shouted slogans and demanded a conversation. Nonetheless, they organized a walkout after Harivansh claimed that their notices were not acknowledged and that nothing they said would be recorded.
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Mausam B Noo, Sushmita Dev (TMC), and Pramod Tiwari (Congress) have called for a debate on the supposed failure of the Election Commission in distributing numerous duplicate Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Cards throughout the states, Harivansh stated.
DMK’s P Wilson and V. Sivadasan from CPM called for one regarding worries about the forthcoming delimitation process affecting southern states. BJP’s Samik Bhattacharya aimed to address the rise in incidents of atrocities against SCs, STs, and OBCs in West Bengal. CPI’s P Santhosh Kumar aimed to address the effects of an agreement between Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio with Elon Musk’s Starlink to offer satellite broadband internet in India.
While Sanjay Singh of AAP demanded a discussion on the increase in crimes and deteriorating law and order situation in Delhi, Haris Beeran of IUML wanted one on the issue of increased instances of drug addiction amongst youth and students in Kerala.
