The monsoon session of parliament ended on Thursday, August 21, in a continuing stalemate between the government and the opposition on a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. While the government continued with legislative business amid the opposition’s protests, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said that running the house should be a priority for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In an interview with The Wire, Sawant said that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had lied in his press conference on August 17, when he said that no claims and objections were received in time following the assembly elections in Maharashtra in November.

“I will just say that he is a liar. He wants proof? He should take suo moto action, and should act proactively,” said Sawant.

While the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has alleged that there was a surge in voter turnout in the last hour of polling, the CEC in his press conference refuted it.

“The (claims and objections) were submitted then itself. He should ask his officer. If they have not forwarded them, it is their mistake. Again I'm saying, he is a liar. Even if we accept that after 5 pm, many voters came to vote who were standing in the queue, why can’t the CCTV footage be shown?

“Show that CCTV footage. Why do you have fear? Why are you not showing it? Why are you scrapping the CCTV footage after 45 days? That shows you are guilty and don't have the courage to show what the CCTV reveals,” he said.

Sawant also said that the government’s move to bring in a constitutional amendment that will give additional powers to the Union government to remove a chief minister or anyone in their cabinet, was “a pure blackmail bill”.

Read excerpts from the interview:

The monsoon session ended in an almost washout with the government passing crucial bills without the opposition as the stalemate continued over the Bihar SIR and the government not agreeing to a discussion. Do you think the opposition should have changed its tactic and participated in legislative business?

The government should change its tactic. Running the house should be the priority of the ruling party. What is the parliamentary affairs minister for? Has he ever held a meeting with any opposition leader for support or discussion? They are always acting in a dictatorial manner. We insisted on a discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack. 

Did they discuss it immediately? Who's responsible? Why is Pahalgam not an issue for them? There have been so many incidents of railway accidents, falling of bridges, or even airline accidents – there has been no discussion in parliament. They just want to run the house the way they want, and bulldoze through bills.

Was a discussion on the Bihar SIR not necessary? Names of voters are being deleted and they are depriving them of their legitimate right to vote, which has been conferred by the constitution.

They were talking about rules and procedures while negating a discussion on the SIR. I told the Speaker [Om Birla] to treat the discussion as reforms in the election rules and procedure. If the Election Commission is working like a spokesperson for the ruling party, why should we not discuss what is happening on the ground?

Former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar as chairman of the Rajya Sabha, said anything under the planet can be discussed in the parliament. Why not this? The reason the ruling party was so adamant against this discussion is because they know that what is being done in the electoral rolls is wrong.

The Shiv Sena has suffered the most at the whims of the Election Commission. They gave the party name and symbol to the very people who left the party. And now the CEC is saying he does not see paksh-vipaksh. He is a liar, how dare he say this?

While the Maha Vikas Aghadi has alleged that there has been an increase in voters in the last hour of voting, and the votes polled are more than the adult population of Maharashtra, the CEC at his press conference on Sunday instead he accused opposition parties of not submitting claims and objections on time and also said that the Chief Election Officer of Maharashtra has not received the name of a single voter with proof. How do you respond to this?

I will just say that he is a liar. He wants proof? He should take suo moto action, and should act proactively. 

We saw Dhananjay Munde, who was a minister, in his constituency people were carrying guns and police were standing there. Has the election commission not seen these videos? In Shirdi, the Congress candidate, found student voters from outside the state – one of the students could not even answer in which college they study in that constituency.

But he's saying no claims and objections were submitted on time and the CEO of Maharashtra has not received the name of a single voter with proof from any of your parties. 

They were submitted then itself. He should ask his officer if they have not forwarded them, it is their mistake.

Again I'm saying, he is a liar. Even if we accept that after 5 pm, many voters came to vote who were standing in the queue, why can’t the CCTV footage be shown? Show that CCTV footage. Why do you have fear? Why are you not showing it? Why are you scrapping the CCTV footage after 45 days? That shows you are guilty and don't have the courage to show what the CCTV reveals.

BJP says that whenever the opposition loses, they attack the Election Commission. What is your response?

Even after winning we are saying this. Anurag Thakur (BJP MP) is talking about Lok Sabha elections when he is alleging irregularities in Wayanad and Rae Bareli. It is not in the assembly elections. We won in the Lok Sabha elections. So check it [electoral rolls], who is saying no? 

Checking is a regular procedure. SIR is a forcible procedure. And even after this, they have not found a single voter to be added in Bihar, they only found those who needed to be deleted.

Yesterday, the government brought the constitutional amendment bill to sack CMs and ministers if they are jailed or detained for 30 days on serious criminal charges. The opposition’s concerns at the introduction stage were overlooked and the bills were sent to a JPC.  What are your concerns over these bills and why do you think it was brought on the second last day of the session?

Look at the timing of when the bill was brought, when the session was about to conclude. What was the necessity? It is because you are facing questions demanding investigations into elections and you are threatening parties that are in alliance with you.

The prime minister said a Rs 75,000 crore irrigation department scam has taken place, referring to Ajit Pawar. The next day he joins them and becomes deputy chief minister. The same thing will happen now. If a minister is jailed, they will wait for 30 days so that they succumb under pressure.

It is a pure blackmailing bill. 

Finally, coming to the VP elections, the numbers are stacked in favour of the NDA candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan. The opposition has called it an “ideological battle”. Is it an ideological battle because the numbers are not in your favour?

B. Sudershan Reddy is a former judge of the Supreme Court. You can see his past, he has always been judicious and believed in the Constitution of India.  His judgments protect the constitution. That's what we need right now. If good sense prevails among all members of parliament from any party, they will vote for him.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.