Winter Session of Parliament Begins Amid Tensions Over SIR and Electoral Reforms

PTI, NEW  DELHI,  NOV  30, 2025  :The Winter Session of Parliament begins on Monday under the shadow of SIR, with several parties uniting against it and threatening to stall proceedings in both houses if a discussion is not allowed on it. At an all-party meeting convened by the government to seek the Opposition's support for smooth functioning of Parliament, several parties raised the demand for a discussion on special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls together with issues of national security in the wake of the Delhi blast and air pollution in the national capital.

Issues like foreign policy, price rise, unemployment, new labour codes, and federalism amid charges that governors are sitting on bills passed by state legislatures and funds of opposition-ruled states being held up were also raised and would come up during the session beginning December 1, 2025. The government, while seeking the Opposition's support, said it would continue to engage with all parties to ensure smooth functioning of the session.

At the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meetings of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, the Opposition kept up its demand for a discussion on the larger issue of electoral reforms and not specifically on SIR. The government assured the opposition that it will convey its views on it soon. The government also pushed for a discussion on Vande Mataram, our national song, and the 150th anniversary of its composition, but several opposition parties, the TMC not one of them, were not enthusiastic about it.

The Lok Sabha has allotted 10 hours for the discussion and the date will be decided by Speaker Om Birla. The Lok Sabha has listed The Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, for Monday and allotted three hours for it. The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and The Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025, which seeks to levy a cess to augment resources for meeting expenditure on national security and for public health, are slated for introduction.

The Rajya Sabha BAC meeting remained inconclusive and would again be held on Monday evening. Opposition leaders said they want Parliament to function by starting a discussion on SIR at 2 pm, but the government did not agree. They said the government would be responsible for any disruption. The ruling NDA is likely to come up with 14 legislations, as it goes ahead with its reforms after an emphatic victory in the Bihar Assembly polls. This is the first session after the Bihar election.