India Opposition Protests Electoral Roll Revision

Opposition MPs in India, primarily from the India — Indian National Congress and the INDIA bloc, are protesting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls during the Winter Session of Parliament. They are demanding a debate on the SIR exercise, which they claim has removed 62 lakh voters in Bihar and is being rolled out in 12 states, raising concerns about citizens' right to vote and comparing it to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Key figures like Manickam Tagore, Digvijaya Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Sonia Gandhi are involved in the protests. The India — Bharatiya Janata Party, through MP Aparajita, has criticized the opposition's actions as 'baseless issues' and urged constructive parliamentary work. Separately, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to introduce the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to increase excise duties on tobacco products.