New Delhi, August 21(HS):

Barely minutes after the Lok Sabha reconvened at 11 a.m., pandemonium broke out as the Chairman refused to entertain adjournment notices, leading to vociferous protests. Theprotest.had been slated to discuss the contentious Bill seeking a nationwide ban on real-money gambling but was abruptly adjourned until 2 p.m.

Amid the uproar, Congress MP Manickam Tagore raised what he termed a “grave constitutional and democratic concern” — the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls and partisan functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Citing claims made by party leader Rahul Gandhi, Tagore pointed to reports suggesting that in Bihar, legitimate voters were being falsely marked as deceased and systematically deleted from electoral rolls.

He argued that these irregularities cast a long shadow over the ECI’s transparency and impartiality, warning that the “supposed Standardisation and Intensification of Rolls (SIR) process” was emerging as a targeted political tool to skew demographics in favor of the ruling party.

The charges, touching both on democratic integrity and electoral fairness, are expected to sharpen political fault lines when the House reconvenes later in the day.

Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday after RS Chair Harivansh rejected the notices submitted by Opposition MPs, sparking a protest.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar