Allegations of voter list manipulation, focused on Bengal, and the “language war” between the Centre and Tamil Nadu dominated Parliament as it opened on Monday for the second half of the budget session.

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to allow a discussion on voter lists after the Trinamool Congress complained of duplicate voter I-cards in Bengal.

“Questions on the voter list are being raised in every state. In Maharashtra, questions on the voter list were being raised in black and white. The entire Opposition is just saying that there should be a discussion on voter lists in the House,” Rahul said, addressing Birla during Zero Hour.

Earlier, Trinamool member Saugata Roy had broached how voter I-cards with identical numbers featured on the electoral rolls of Bengal and Haryana, an issue flagged recently by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Roy said such discrepancies could undermine the fairness of next year’s Bengal elections.

His fellow Trinamool member, Kalyan Banerjee, accused the Election Commission of failing to conduct fair elections and sought “appropriate proceedings” against the constitutional body.

“Where is the increase in voters in Bengal coming from? Voters are coming from Gujarat and Haryana. This is not tolerable,” Banerjee said.

“The Election Commission says they have conducted transparent and fair elections. It is clear there were no transparent elections for the last few years.”

In the Rajya Sabha, Opposition members walked out after their notices demanding a discussion on voter I-card duplication and expressing concern over the proposed delimitation were rejected.

Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a discussion on voter card duplications but his mike was switched off before he had finished his comments. This led to the walkout, which the BJD too joined.

Leader of the House and BJP president J.P. Nadda accused the Opposition of disrespecting Parliament by raising issues without following rules.

“This is a vicious design to demean the institution of Parliament. They are not interested in debate,” Nadda said.

“They want to create the impression that the government does not want discussion. The government is ready to discuss everything. I condemn their walkout.”

Later, in a post on X, Rahul pressed for a House discussion on voter lists.

“The entire Opposition is demanding a detailed discussion on the voter list in Parliament. It has been more than a month since my press conference on the irregularities in the voter list of Maharashtra,” he wrote.

“But the demands we made to the Election Commission regarding transparency have not been fulfilled till now. The questions remain the same even today.”

Alluding obliquely to Trinamool’s allegations, Rahul said: “Now, new evidence of duplicate names in the voter list has emerged, raising even more new and serious questions. This discussion is very important to protect the values of democracy and the Constitution.”

Language ruckus

The Lok Sabha saw sharp exchanges between education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the Opposition DMK over the three-language formula in the Centre’s new education policy, which the Tamil Nadu party views as an underhand way of getting the state’s schools to teach Hindi.

DMK member T. Sumathy alleged that funds meant for Tamil Nadu under the PM-SHRI scheme were being diverted to other states as a “revengeful” measure because of her party’s opposition to the new education policy. The PM-SHRI scheme ties funds to acceptance of the three-language policy.

Pradhan claimed the DMK had initially agreed to implement the three-language formula but changed its mind because of political considerations.

“They agreed…. They went back…. They had a U-turn. It is their problem,” the minister said amid uproarious protests from DMK members.

“They (the DMK) are being dishonest. They are not committed to Tamil Nadu students. They are ruining the future of Tamil Nadu students. Their only job is to raise language barriers. They are doing politics... mischief. They are undemocratic.”

Pradhan stressed that non-BJP-ruled states such as Karnataka had accepted the Centre’s new education policy. DMK members accused the minister of lying and rushed to the Well, leading to a brief adjournment.

DMK member Kanimozhi later submitted a breach of privilege notice against Pradhan.

“The hon’ble minister claimed that the Tamil Nadu government had initially agreed to sign a(n) MoU with the Government of India for accepting the PM-SHRI scheme but later took a U-turn, which is factually incorrect, misleading the House and against official records,” she said in the notice, alleging contempt of the House.

In Tamil Nadu, chief minister and DMK boss M.K. Stalin accused Pradhan of insulting his state.

“The Union Education Minister, who thinks of himself as a king and speaks arrogantly, needs to be disciplined!... You are insulting the people of Tamil Nadu. Does the Honorable Prime Minister accept this?” Stalin tweeted, reaffirming his opposition to the three-language formula.

“We have not come forward to implement your plan, and no one can force me to do so.”