Derek O'Brien hits back at Amit Shah over SIR debate, recalls 2025 Rajya Sabha proceedings

Trinamool Congress national joint secretary Derek O'Brien on Wednesday hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's challenge to the opposition to debate the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Parliament, recalling how an INDIA bloc demand for a discussion on the issue in the Rajya Sabha was not taken up last year.

The video comes amid an intensifying political confrontation over the Election Commission's SIR exercise. (X/@derekobrienmp)O'Brien, the TMC's parliamentary party leader in the Rajya Sabha, shared a two-minute video of the House proceedings from December 1, 2025, when he and other opposition members had urged the Chair to allow a discussion on electoral reforms, including SIR.

"A special video for Messrs Modi-Shah & cronies. A reminder from a Parliament they mock. 1 December 2025. Rajya Sabha. Two minutes that tell a story," O'Brien said on X. "I.N.D.I.A parties demanded a discussion on SIR. The BJP BLOCKED it.

And today, all the big talk about wanting a debate! Watch," he added. On Tuesday, Shah said the government was ready to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss SIR, challenging Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to participate in a debate.

Addressing an event in Raipur, he accused the Congress of disrupting parliamentary proceedings and taking political disputes to the streets instead of discussing them in the House. The exchange comes amid an intensifying political confrontation over the Election Commission's SIR exercise, with opposition parties alleging that the revision has led to the exclusion of eligible voters and questioning the poll body's procedures.

The INDIA bloc held a rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1, demanding accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the exercise and raising concerns over the integrity of electoral rolls.