During the all-party meeting, the Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar raised several urgent political, economic and democratic concerns.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday chaired an all-party meeting ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament, which commences on January 28 and will continue till April 2, 2026.
During the meeting, the Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar raised several urgent political, economic and democratic concerns.
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The CPI MP demanded a Special Fiscal Correction Package for Kerala to address a severe resource gap of over ₹21,000 crore, arising from borrowing constraints imposed by the Centre during the current financial year.
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Kumar also raised the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying that it has turned into a “Special Intensive Removal” across states.
“In a democracy, voters are supposed to elect the rulers. In our country, the opposite is happening, where rulers are choosing the voters. The Election Commission is fast turning into an eradication commission,” the CPI MP said.
He also condemned the alleged targeting of innocent tribals in the name of anti-naxal operation, while also criticising the Narendra Modi-led government’s “foreign policy paralysis”.
The CPI leader also demanded the immediate restoration of MGNREGA, pointing out that delayed wage payments, shrinking allocations and reduced workdays have gravely affected rural livelihoods.
The CPI reiterated its demand for an immediate increase in wages for ASHA workers, as assured earlier by the Union Health Minister.
The Opposition Congress has said that it will raise the issues of “vote chori”, SIR exercise and MGNREGA during the Budget Session. “We will talk about vote theft and the SIR… We will talk about bringing the MGNREGA scheme back,” Congress MP Manickam Tagore said.
SIR issue already discussed, session to focus on budget: Rijiju
Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, while speaking to reporters after the all-party meeting, stated that the issue of the SIR has already been discussed extensively during the winter session and if Opposition raises it again, that will be uncalled for.
“I want to put the record very straight. Last time, many political parties, in fact, all the opposition parties had demanded a discussion on SIR and the government had expanded the scope. We had taken up the election reforms, where the SIR issue was also included and a thorough marathon discussion took place in both the houses in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. All the other members were given ample time. In fact, the parties exhausted their energy to complete within the time allotted. If they seek another debate discussion, that will be uncalled for because this was thoroughly discussed…,” he said.
He, however, asserted that the government has noted the concerns raised by the Opposition leaders during the meeting but main focus will be the Union Budget.
“Many members have raised many issues during the all-party floor leaders meeting. We have noted down, and I also asked the members that during the motion of thanks to the president’s address, various issues can be raised and spoken about during the debate and discussion and also during the budget, because the first part of the budget session will be fully devoted to the motion of thanks to the President…Since this is a budget session, the main focus of this session will be on the budget…,” he added.
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