Oppn protests against SIR in Parl complex

New Delhi: Several Opposition MPs of INDIA Bloc parties held a protest in the Parliament House complex on Monday against the Election Commission’s voter roll revision in Bihar.

Led by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the MPs of INDIA Bloc raised “vote chor, gaddi chhor” and “vote chori band karo” slogans.

They also held a big banner that read “Stop vote chori” and held posters demanding “stop SIR”.

Leaders of Congress, TMC, DMK, Left parties and RJD and Samajwadi Party were seen holding posters and banners right outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament.

Some of the Samajwadi Party members also held copies of the affidavit given by their leader Akhilesh Yadav to the EC, accusing the Election Commission of deleting names of voters belonging to backward communities.

“The ECI cannot relinquish its Constitutional duty and evade genuine queries of political parties. The ‘Right to Vote’ is the most important right, given to us by the Constitution of India. INDIA will protest any attempt to stifle Democracy,” Kharge said in a post on X while sharing a video of the Opposition protest.

Kharge later also sought to raise the issue of SIR in the Rajya Sabha but was disallowed by the chair.

“The right to vote has been given to us by the Constitution, and no one has the right to take it away. The ECI is threatening and intimidating us, but we are not ones to be scared by their threats. We will keep fighting for democracy,” he later said in another post.

Yadav, meanwhile, alleged that names of voters belonging to several backward groups, including the Maurya, Pal, Bhagel and Rathore communities, were being struck off the rolls to benefit the BJP.

“The truth is their votes are being deleted. The SP raised this issue earlier also, but it is important to understand that this is done deliberately to cut the votes of backward classes, while projecting that these votes are going elsewhere,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

Yadav claimed his party had identified constituencies where they lost by a narrow margin and where voter deletions played a role.

“This is what we could identify in a short time. If we receive the voter lists in the format we want, we can provide more such cases. Votes cast in 2019 were deleted by 2022. There is also a proper procedure for creating a voter ID, but that is being ignored,” he charged, while demanding strict action against erring officials.