SIR debate row: Sitharaman tells Rahul to argue in Parliament, Congress says first remove CEC

The dispute between the government and the Opposition over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has become a public argument about where the debate should happen. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday told Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to make his case in Parliament instead of challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

What the government side said

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a post on X, said a venue for the debate already existed: Parliament, where Gandhi is the Leader of Opposition. She noted that Home Minister Amit Shah had offered a day earlier to call a special session on the SIR and electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Sitharaman asked why Gandhi did not bring the same energy to a debate in the House that he showed in online challenges. She accused Congress and its INDIA bloc partners of walking out when the government replied and of disrupting proceedings until whole sittings were lost. She also described a mock Parliament held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's home as a mockery of the real one, and asked Gandhi to back his charges with evidence.

What Gandhi and Congress say

Gandhi has kept up his call for a face-to-face debate with Modi on what he has described as claims about foreign links and anti-national activity. On Tuesday he ran an X poll asking young people whether they wanted such a debate, and tagged senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Yogi Adityanath, asking them to persuade the Prime Minister. He has said any venue would do. Reports reviewed did not carry a direct reply from him to Sitharaman's post.

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday that if Shah was serious about a debate, he should first secure the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and halt the SIR. Ramesh noted that the government had earlier refused an SIR debate on the ground that the matter lay with the Election Commission.

Ramesh also pointed out that Parliament had not been prorogued 82 days after the Monsoon Session ended, and suggested the government may be keeping a special session open to pass proposed Delimitation Bills. He asked for the drafts to be shared with the Opposition early and for an all-party meeting. The government has not published the bills.

Why it matters

The SIR, a door-to-door re-verification of voter lists, is being challenged in the Supreme Court and has drawn street protests against the Election Commission. Whether a special session takes place, and what it covers, will shape the next round of the fight over India's electoral rolls.