Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 7: Senior leaders from the INDIA bloc, including Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, staged a strong protest inside the Parliament premises on Thursday against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The protest, held near the iconic Makar Dwar of Parliament House, saw participation from MPs of several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, DMK, Left parties, and others. Displaying placards that read "Stop SIR" and "SIR - Silent Invisible Rigging", the leaders raised slogans, demanding an immediate rollback of the revision exercise.
TMC MP Sagarika Ghose and Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav were also seen among the protestors, as banners in bold stated, “Discussion not deletion” — underlining the opposition’s claim that the SIR was a veiled attempt at large-scale voter deletion in Bihar ahead of the crucial Assembly elections.
Thursday marked the 12th day of continued protest, with only a brief pause on Monday following the passing of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren.
The opposition parties have alleged that the Election Commission’s exercise, being carried out in collaboration with the central government, is aimed at disenfranchising thousands of voters in key constituencies across Bihar. They have also been demanding a formal discussion in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — a demand that has so far gone unmet.
Ever since the Monsoon Session of Parliament began on July 21, proceedings have remained disrupted due to repeated adjournments over the SIR row. Apart from discussions on ‘Operation Sindoor’, the House has witnessed very little legislative business.
With tensions mounting, the INDIA bloc continues to stand firm in its demand for transparency and accountability in the voter roll revision process.