Rijiju accuses opposition of propagating "wrong narrative" regarding election processes

Ahead of the debate on election reforms, Rijiju said the government will have a chance to refute the "wrong narrative" the opposition is spreading.

"Today, Lok Sabha will discuss election reform. Opposition will speak. The government will also clear the delusion that has been created. The government will clarify the wrong narrative being set regarding people's trust and their participation in election processes," Rijiju told reporters after attending the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting here.

He also refuted the allegations levelled by the opposition regarding the 'Vande Mataram' debate being held in Parliament due to the forthcoming West Bengal elections, saying that it was wrong since the government doesn't decide the dates of historical events.

"Some opposition people say that the Vande Mataram discussion was held due to the Bengal election. This is wrong. Vande Mataram completed 150 years on November 7. How can we decide on that date? If it (the national song) has completed 150 years now, the discussion will also be held now. We don't set the dates for such events; we celebrate them," Rijiju said.

"Vande Matram discussion to begin by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha," he added.

Amid IndiGo fiasco that has led to disruptions in the flight operations across major airports in the country, with passengers suffering due to delays and cancellations, Rijiju said the Prime Minister spoke of focusing on reforms for the betterment of people.

"Indian citizens should not face any difficulties from the side of the government, PM asked MPs to assure this. Rule and regulations are good, but to correct the system and not to trouble the public," he said.

Informing about the discussions held during the NDA Parliamentary Party, Rijiju said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided guidance to the MPs to focus on reforms for the betterment of people.

"All NDA leaders congratulated PM Modi for the NDA's victory in the Bihar elections. PM Modi guided all the NDA MPs to work for their respective constituencies. PM emphasised undertaking reforms across all sectors to ease the public's lives and ensure they face no problems. The PM said that laws should help people. He also urged the MPs to connect with the youth. I express my gratitude to the PM for this guidance. It was a very good meeting of the NDA parliamentary party," he said.

The lower house of Parliament is set to take up the issue of election reforms for discussion. This will include a discussion of the SIR exercise initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in various states.

The opposition parties have been demanding a debate on SIR for months, with Congress alleging discrepancies in the voter list.

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha is likely to open the discussion in the lower house today. The LoP has been a vocal critic of SIR, alleging that the government is using the process to delete genuine voters.

KC Venugopal is one of the senior Congress leaders participating in the debate on election reforms. Others include Manish Tewari, Varsha Gaikwad, Mohammed Javaid, Ujjwal Raman Singh, Isa Khan, Ravi Mallu, Imran Masood, Gowaal Padavi, and S Jyotimani.

In Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to initiate the discussion on SIR.

A total of 10 hours has been earmarked for the entire discussion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. (ANI)