New Delhi, March 10 – Just minutes after the House convened for the second day, the Rajya Sabha witnessed heated and chaotic scenes regarding the ongoing SIR (Voter Verification) exercise, which is currently being conducted in states going to polls. The Leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, and House Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan also engaged in a brief verbal exchange.
Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the SIR exercise, conducted under the guise of voter verification, is rife with multiple irregularities and malpractices, prompting a quick intervention by the Chairman, who rejected the charge.
As Kharge emphatically called SIR a "fraud," Congress MPs rallied behind him, echoing his claims.
Radhakrishnan promptly rejected the charge, saying, "In Tamil Nadu, it is not," and refused to allow Kharge to proceed further with his "unsubstantiated" claims.
As the two attempted to counter each other, the Upper House witnessed chaotic scenes as Congress members backed Kharge and shouted slogans in his support, disrupting House proceedings. However, the Chairman remained firm and refused to grant permission.
Lashing out at the government and the Election Commission, Kharge said, "What Derek O'Brien raised in the House is very important. Everywhere, SIR is being used fraudulently to win elections, including in Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and elsewhere."
Radhakrishnan, objecting to Kharge's charges, said, "Look at the situation in Bengal. What you are saying is not correct."
Kharge reiterated, "Fraud, fraud, fraud," backed by the clamor of party MPs, to which Radhakrishnan replied, "I will not allow it."
Earlier, Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien raised the issue of SIR and said that it was not an electoral reform but a gross violation of people's rights in the name of a voter verification drive. He also took potshots at the Chief Election Commissioner, claiming that the exercise was being carried out by a "highly unreliable" person.
The ongoing SIR exercise, which is being conducted in multiple states, including poll-bound ones like Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and West Bengal, has left the Congress and the INDIA Bloc up in arms, who see it as an EC "ploy" to benefit the ruling BJP.