New Delhi: Opposition MPs, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, marched from Parliament House to the Election Commission (EC) headquarters on Monday to protest the voter roll revision in Bihar under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. They were stopped midway by police at Transport Bhawan.
Wearing white caps marked with a red cross over the words “SIR” and “vote chori”, the MPs raised slogans and held placards accusing the EC of “vote theft” and “attacking democracy.” Before starting from Parliament’s Makar Dwar, they sang the national anthem.
Police had set up barricades on Parliament Street near Transport Bhawan and used loudspeakers to order the MPs to halt. TMC’s Mahua Moitra and Sushmita Dev, along with Congress leaders Sanjana Jatav and Jothimani, climbed the barricades, chanting slogans and demanding a rollback of the SIR. Banners read: “SIR + Vote Theft = Murder of Democracy” and “SIR – Loktantra Par Vaar”.
Other leaders in the protest included T R Baalu (DMK), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena-UBT), Derek O’Brien (TMC), and Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), along with MPs from the RJD and Left parties.
The Opposition has accused the EC of colluding with the government to “disenfranchise voters” ahead of Bihar’s assembly elections later this year. The EC has denied the allegations. The issue has triggered a logjam in Parliament since the Monsoon session began on July 21, with both Houses witnessing frequent disruptions and minimal legislative work, except for discussions on Operation Sindoor.
