Dissolution of Lok Sabha first step towards genuine SIR: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said immediate dissolution of the Lok Sabha should be the first step towards conducting a genuine Special Intensive Revision (SIR). In a post on X, the TMC leader also said that the SIR should be implemented across the country and not selectively in the poll-bound states. "The EC (Election Commission) has stated that the voter lists across various states on the basis of which the General Elections were held barely a year ago in 2024 are faulty and riddled with irregularities," Banerjee said. "If that is indeed the case, and if the GoI (Government of India) agrees with the EC's assessment, then the first step towards conducting a genuine SIR and standing on moral high ground is the immediate dissolution of Lok Sabha," he said, and added, "If one truly supports the idea of SIR, then as per the EC's own statement - the people of this country have been betrayed," he said.

Banerjee said the Lok Sabha should be dissolved, the SIR should be conducted across the country and general elections should be held. "Aap chronology samajh lijiye (understand the chronology) -- dissolve the House, conduct SIR across the country, go for elections and face the people," he said. The INDIA bloc parties have been protesting against the ongoing the SIR exercise in Bihar, calling it "vote chori" (vote theft), and an exercise which would lead to the disenfranchisement of many. The opposition parties have been pressing for a debate on the issue in Parliament. They also attempted a march to the EC office on Monday, but were stopped midway. The Congress on Wednesday announced that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with the INDIA bloc leaders in Bihar, will embark on a 'Vote Adhikar Yatra' across the state starting August 17. Bihar will face assembly polls later this year.