With ‘Stop SIR’ placards along with posters, alleging collusion between the EC and the government, in hand, the MPs of the opposition, including those of the Congress, DMK, TMC, and Left parties, among others, participated in the protest.
NEW DELHI — Accusing “Silent and Invisible Rigging” through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, several MPs of the INDIA bloc parties, including Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, staged a protest in the Parliament House complex on Thursday.
The Opposition accused the Centre and the Bihar administration of attempting to manipulate the electoral rolls to benefit the ruling alliance.
Holding banners and posters against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party‘s Dharmendra Yadav, TMC’s Sagarika Ghose, as well as other opposition MPs raised slogans and demanded a rollback of the SIR as they staged their protest near Parliament’s Makar Dwar, reports PTI.
Sonia Gandhi, in a rare public intervention, termed the move “deeply disturbing” and said it “strikes at the heart of democratic principles.” “Any attempt to tamper with the voter list, especially in a politically charged environment, is a direct assault on the rights of citizens,” she said in a brief statement.
The Opposition lawmakers continued its protest against SIR for the 12th day with only one day gap in between on Monday when the opposition skipped their protest in view of the demise of former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren.
A huge banner in front of the protesting MPs read ‘Discussion not deletion’, another banner read ‘SIR – Silent Invisible Rigging’.
With ‘Stop SIR’ placards along with posters, alleging collusion between the EC and the government, in hand, the MPs of the opposition, including those of the Congress, DMK, TMC, and Left parties, among others, participated in the protest.
The opposition has been protesting in both Houses of Parliament against the SIR, alleging the EC’s exercise was aimed at “disenfranchising voters” in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections. They have been demanding a discussion on the issue in both Houses.
Opposition leaders claimed that the Election Commission’s involvement in the exercise lacked transparency and questioned its timing, coming just months before the state goes to polls. RJD, Congress, and Left MPs demanded a halt to the revision process until an all-party consultation is held.
There has been a logjam in Parliament over the SIR in Bihar. Barring discussions on Operation Sindoor in both Houses, Parliament has seen little business ever since the Monsoon session began on July 21 due to repeated adjournments, mostly over the SIR issue. — With inputs from agency
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Photo (PTI) : Opposition MPs held a protest inside Paliament complex on Thursday demanding a rollback of the SIR in Bihar.
