New Delhi, 2 Dec

The Indian government on Tuesday expressed willingness to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the Rajya Sabha, but Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Opposition cannot dictate the timeline for the debate.

The statement came as Opposition MPs intensified their protest in the Upper House after Chairman CP Radhakrishnan rejected their notices under Rule 267, citing failure to meet procedural requirements.

Despite continued sloganeering during Zero Hour, members refused to yield to the Chair's requests for order.

Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge insisted these were urgent matters, claiming nearly 28 people had died during the SIR exercise.

"People are dying. And SIR is going fast... This is an urgent matter. To save democracy... I want discussion should take place now only. And in the interest of democracy, in the interest of citizens, in the interest of the country," he said.

Leader of the House JP Nadda said the Parliamentary Affairs Minister had indicated the previous day that he would return with a response. "Today, I am told by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, that very soon a meeting is going to take place with the Opposition leaders, and accordingly, we will decide."

Rijiju said he would engage with Opposition leaders from different parties, both formally and informally, but requested that they should not impose "timeline conditions".

"In Parliamentary democracy, we have to engage in dialogue, we have to engage in discussion. There are many issues in the country. You should not undermine one issue, and take up another issue. All the issues are important," he said.

He also also took a swipe at the Opposition, saying, "You are not able to win elections, people do not trust you, and you are venting your anger in Parliament. This is not right at all."

He added that while the government was ready for discussion, a meeting was necessary first.

"In a democracy, there is a platform of elections with the people. We said yesterday too that we are ready to discuss and you should at least hold consultations. But, they try to fix the time, saying the government should tell now. This is not right," he said.

Earlier, Kharge raised procedural concerns, stating that the tradition of reading out the names and subjects of notices given under Rule 267 was not being followed.

"Just like the adjournment motion is given in the lower house, the same thing is done there and here too. But suddenly, the person who has given the notice, his name is not read, his subject is also not read. This is not good," Kharge said.

He also complained about the Chair's attention being directed only toward the treasury benches, saying, "Earlier, they used to see one side, only Nadda. Now, sir, you are seeing only this table down and you are not seeing us."

The chairman responded by asking how he could listen to everyone when the House was not in order, adding that he had asked the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to respond and the minister had sought time.

The Chair concluded by noting that the minister had agreed to discuss with Opposition leaders and suggested proceeding with listed business until the consultations concluded.