There will be no discussion on Bihar voter list revision in Parliament despite the Opposition’s demand, the government has indicated, underscoring a reason cited by former Speaker Balaram Jakhar, sources have said. About this, three arguments are being considered by the government, sources said.
The first is that the campaign being run by the Central Election Commission is not an election reform. Rather, it is an administrative step and the Election Commission has been taking such steps from time to time.
The second reason is that even if a discussion is held in both houses of Parliament on the intensive revision of the voter list, there is no one to answer the questions that the Opposition could raise.
The Election Commission cannot come to the House to present its side, sources pointed out. And although the Law Ministry is the nodal ministry for the Election Commission, it generally looks after only administrative work, and does not interfere in policy matters.
The third reason the government gave is that there are many such institutions which do not have a mechanism to present their side before the Parliament. In such situations, there cannot be a discussion about those institutions, sources said.
