Winter Session Stormy Start: PM Modi Calls for Discipline as Opposition Protests 'Vote Chori' and SIR 2.0

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On this Special Report, India Today tracks the stormy start to the Winter Session of Parliament on December 1, 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged members to avoid 'theatrics and drama', stating, 'Parliament is not the place' for such actions. However, the Opposition launched a fierce protest alleging 'vote chori' (vote theft) through the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR 2.0) of electoral rolls. The programme highlights the human cost of the exercise, citing the suicide of booth-level officer (BLO) Suresh Singh in Moradabad due to alleged work pressure. The report notes that 33 BLOs have reportedly died in the last month amid the rollout of the new system across 12 states.

Transcript

00:00If anything was to go by in the tone that was set on day one of the winter session,

00:05then we can well assume that the winter session is going to go down exactly on the lines of the monsoon session

00:12or even the budget session that was a complete washout.

00:16On day one, you had the Prime Minister who openly stated,

00:19listen, if you have to resort to theatrics and drama, Parliament is not the place.

00:23Just because after a defeat, you want to prove a point, don't use Parliament as a platform.

00:29The government, of course, setting the line, but the opposition hitting back.

00:35Today, on day one, the issue that resonated through Parliament was vote-chori and SIR.

00:41Parliament witnessed a stormy start to the winter session on Monday,

01:02with the battle over SIR taking centre stage from the very first hour.

01:06Ahead of the session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged members of Parliament

01:11to keep the focus on meaningful discussion and not on drama.

01:36Within minutes, the Congress hit back.

01:51It is a huge issue for democracy, what is going on, whether it's the election situation or the SIR.

02:01Speaking about issues, raising issues is not drama.

02:05Drama is not allowing discussion.

02:07Drama is not having a democratic discussion about issues that matter to the public.

02:11As Parliament convened, protests erupted in both houses.

02:16In the Lok Sabha, opposition MPs raised vote-chori slogans

02:20and demanded an immediate discussion on the SIR exercise.

02:25MPs stormed the well of the House, accusing the government of rushing the SIR process,

02:30not giving both level officers enough time and allegedly attempting voter suppression.

02:35The election commission fully well knows when the elections are due in each state.

02:55So why can't you start the process 12 months or 18 months earlier,

02:57adequately train the BLOs, give them resources.

03:00Why do it in a rushed manner in 30 days and put so much pressure on them?

03:03The government must be a little bit more accommodating,

03:05give us space to raise issues of our concern,

03:07and I'm sure everything will work smoothly after.

03:09Very dignified remarks as part of the...

03:13The government, however, maintained that the SIR is a routine electoral process

03:18and rejected all allegations.

03:20But as a political wall rages inside Parliament,

03:23the pressure on ground-level election staff is now turning deadly.

03:27Targets, deadlines, endless surveys.

03:30The opposition says frontline workers are being pushed beyond human limits.

03:35The poll body on Sunday extended the schedule for the ongoing SIR

03:38of electoral rolls across 12 states and union territories by a week.

03:45The poll panel said the extension was meant to ensure full transparency.

03:50Meanwhile, there are more reports of BLO deaths.

03:52In Moradabad, Booth-level officer Suresh Singh died by suicide.

04:03His families say he was under extreme stress due to SIR targets.

04:08This video, now widely circulating, shows him breaking down in tears.

04:12And his suicide note spells out the mental tone.

04:15The anger has now spilled onto the streets.

04:35In Kolkata, the Mathwa community marched the protest.

04:39The Congress has joined the stir,

04:41transforming the issue into a nationwide political confrontation.

04:44Shocking figures of BLO deaths are emerging.

04:51In just last one month, 33 Booth-level officers have died

04:54after the rollout of the Election Commission's SIR 2.0 system.

05:00What began as a revision of electoral rolls

05:03has now turned into a battle with real human consequences.

05:07As political parties trade charges in Parliament,

05:10families of overworked Booth-level officers are left to grieve in silence.

05:16The question now is not just about voter rolls,

05:19but also the price being paid to update them.

05:21Bureau Report, India Today.

05:25The question is not only that the restrainsake sell it themselves

05:27or the state of the theory financed people.

Winter Session Stormy Start: PM Modi Calls for Discipline as Opposition Protests 'Vote Chori' and SIR 2.0

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