New Delhi: Several Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc, including Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, held a protest on Thursday within the Parliament House complex, opposing the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar.
Led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, and TMC’s Sagarika Ghose, the protesting MPs carried banners and placards demanding the rollback of the SIR. They gathered near Parliament’s Makar Dwar, raising slogans against what they described as a flawed and politically motivated revision process.
This marked the 12th day of the opposition’s protest, with a single break observed on Monday following the demise of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren.
Among the prominent banners displayed during the demonstration were those reading “Discussion not deletion” and “SIR – Silent Invisible Rigging.” The protesters also carried signs alleging collusion between the Election Commission and the government.
Lawmakers from the Congress, DMK, TMC, Left parties, and other opposition groups participated in the protest. They accused the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise voters in Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections and have demanded a formal discussion on the matter in both Houses of Parliament.
Parliament has witnessed a deadlock over the SIR issue since the Monsoon Session began on July 21. Aside from debates on Operation Sindoor, legislative proceedings have been repeatedly disrupted, with little business conducted due to ongoing protests and adjournments centered around the voter roll revision.
